


Peace always ends eventually.

by Fireteam_Russian_Roulette



Series: Fireteam Misfortune [2]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Echo Inspiration, Gen, RP/Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29548923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette/pseuds/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette
Summary: Marie and Anya manage to find their little niche, things are peaceful. That is until theyy happen to pick the wrong place to picnic.
Relationships: Marie/Anya
Series: Fireteam Misfortune [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113659





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story started out as a Role play with my friend, Echo. with their permission of course, i wanted to put the rp into a more smoother story format because i enjoy rereading it.
> 
> The characters Below are not mine, i am trying to preserve their characters as much as possible because i really enjoy echo's characters as well:  
> -Astra/Quirk, Awoken Warlock.  
> -Thao/November, Exo Hunter.  
> -Cendric, Human Titan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Catch up for Marie and Anya, It's been almost three years since that life-changing trip to the moon.

Time passed slowly when you were a guardian. While civilian’s aged around you, a guardian remained forever young and on the front line, dying over and over. Even the guardians in the city had their own problems as they went to work every day, standing on the wall or in a city alley. The lucky ones worked in the situation centre with the vanguard directly. There was only one guardian who wasn’t exactly bound by those same rules and that was Marie.

Marie was unique because she had permanently become a research warlock. Most warlocks found at least a little interest in study or exploration of more intellectual pursuits, but researchers threw themselves whole heartly into many research topics with vanguard permission. Most researchers travelled the system to scrounge around in old ruins for golden age data, searching for various form of ancient wisdom. Others took on tasks for the vanguard like studying what the vex could possibly be up too or making an in- depth study of fallen life. Marie had chosen a hive path of study that intertwined with rooting out the various nests on earth all over the world. The cosmodrome was often a hotspot that she would warn the vanguard of. She used a net of data from the various civilian hunting parties and guardian exploration to determine how often specific areas should be swept with an attacking force. Of course, all of this was a cover though because her true purpose had become the care of the only know hive tainted guardian besides Eris, who of course was still alive.

Anya was a titan who was found on the moon and separated from her ghost. She was rescued by Marie with the intention of ‘freeing’ her in the future. Her ghost was also discovered on the moon though and through various situations, Marie now permanently cared for the broken ex-titan and her ghost. The vanguard of course understood that Iskra, the ghost belonging to Anya was alive, and they knew she assisted Marie with her studies, often acting as the in between for the two parties but her guardians’ condition had so far remained hidden from them, allowing Anya to remain safe and securely in the tower under watch.

While the situation was certainly questionable, Marie knew that Anya was incredibly dangerous, too dangerous to be left alone alive. She herself had witnessed the dark power the titan had adopted from her torturous time on the moon and it was a terrifying thought that a titan could do things that guardians had nightmares about. If that alone was all that that the titan was, then it would be a no-brainer choice to exterminate her, but she offered more worth alive than dead and while not many would believe it, Anya, while broken, wanted nothing more than to feel safe.

Marie had done endless tests on almost every part of Anya and her condition in an effort to cure her. It was impossible of course but while she certainly couldn’t heal her, she did learn a gold mine of information regarding hive growth and biology. She’d managed to streamline hive language and translation through her studies in communicating with Anya and most of all, found various ways to assist in the permanent removal of hive growth if you didn’t mind everything dead. Anya had become a wonderful tool to fight the hive with and all this without leaving the safety of the tower.

Of course, most people would be horrified by the discovery of such a dangerous asset in the tower, but it would be made worse by the fact that Marie had fallen in love with the doomed titan. It hadn’t started out that way of course, it never did. Anya was messy in every aspect, she was barely a corpse once, but you will inevitably fall in love with a flower even if it blooms slowly. Anya at her best was an old and especially bright titan who gave her life happily for the safety of the city, especially those around her. her broken form was much more subdued and childish in the way she feared the world she could no longer connect too. She found safety and love in Marie, lovingly returning the feelings in her own quiet way. Perhaps it was born from her dedication to protect but she didn’t want to harm anyone on purpose. Anya was quick to defend herself if she felt scared, which offered a risk of course but as she recovered, she had regained some of her humanity.

It took time to bring the titian back from the thing she was, but her recovery had allowed her to understand simple human concepts, the strongest of those being love but she had come to understand the difference between someone welcoming her and the feeling of fear or disgust that her existence would prompt. It led to her becoming shy and guilty when she caused such reactions. Anger and fear were already natural to her, but she learned to control it when she was with someone she trusted to protect her. Marie was able to calm the titan in her worst moods allowing her to contain the danger that she offered.

Marie knew of course that it was impossible to fix Anya, but her work had allowed her to instead improve the titan’s quality of life with things like games to keep her mind active, physical care to help her body heal and support so that she remained safe to be around. The tower was however not a comfortable place for Anya so in addition to her work, she also snuck the titan in and out of the tower every few weeks to take a much-appreciated break from the suffocating light and observation of the city. Marie of course used the excuse of her studies and days off to steal the titan away, her armour made her look like just another guardian so it was easy to pass as one long enough to escape the tower to freedom. Marie had grown accustomed to living like this and had managed to live this way for a few years now, but it was inevitable for their life to come crashing down.

It’s odd to see a guardian being secretive, it means that they failed and with the life she led, secrets meant everything to Marie. Usually, it was a hunter being shady and you could look past it because that’s just a hunter’s nature in most part, even Cayde did what he wanted regardless of the rules much to Commander Zavala’s chagrin. It’s even stranger to see a warlock and titan be as secretive though because they were considered to be the less shady of the classes, especially when together. Usually, Marie went out of the way to make sure they were out of the way of prying eyes, especially out of the tower but ironically, this was what would lead them to disaster.


	2. Eyes in the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marie only has eyes for anya, unfortunately a few other people do too.

At first when two guardians started coming to the area, it was just by chance. Marie chose a nice little secluded spot in the forest where thy could have a sweet little picnic, allowing Anya to enjoy some time without the overbearing weight of the light in the city. She was free to enjoy the sounds of the wilds and breezes of a nice day, even rain was nice sometimes as they had even been stuck overnight in an old hunter’s hut once while a storm passed over, but it was all for her benefit. This little picnic area was a favourite of theirs because it wasn’t too far away from the city, but it was safe enough that they would be left alone. Apparently, there were others that thought the same of the area.

Marie wasn’t aware of the warlock that had also chosen these woods as her secluded place of study. To the mystery guardian, it started out fine. Sure, the first landing was worrying but the two ‘guardians’ didn’t appear to be looking for her and left so it was fine, one of them felt a little strange but that wasn’t world ending. When they kept coming back, that was when they truly caught the mysterious warlock’s eye. it was weird as they appeared to have something strange about them which became clearer with every secret trip they made. She could tell their little trips were supposed to be secret because there were a thousand other places to go and yet they chose the same place. She herself chose this place because it was quiet, secret, you could say. Typically, she would let it go, maybe even move if they had gotten too close, which at one point they had, but it was the reactions from her own study and specimens that kept her from relocating.

Whatever the two ‘guardians’ goals were, they were unclear due to the strange condition that one of them had and It led to suspicions. Being rather shy and aloof, the warlock recruited her team's hunter to look into things in her stead. While the warlock didn’t feel particularly threatened by the two, she was certainly curious enough to mention it to her fireteam, which became much more concerned about the matter. It was rather curious as to why her research seemed to be so drawn to the two. it was then that the hunter started trailing the guardian’s home to find out a little more about these two strange guardians who seemed to be trying awfully hard to be as secretive as possible.

As the hunter begun his investigation somewhat reluctantly, the situation certainly smelled fishy with what they already knew, but at seeing footage of them he settled a bit. He personally didn’t enjoy being dragged into his ‘friends’ study so at first he was wary but they looked normal so that was a good start. The two didn't look dredgen or as I they openly belonged to any order in fact. They were not familiar regarding the tower's watch list, so immediate threats were crossed out, but it opened up more questions. they seemed to be a part of the tower, given that he watched them fly in, so there was nothing specifically odd to be seen on observation.

It was rather convenient for the hunter that he could confidently depend on word from his warlock companion, he was in the tower when they happened to go out next and she alerted him when they left the area. They seemed to come straight to the tower as well so they clearly weren’t meeting with any cults that they could tell on the way home. Just to test the theory though, he had perched himself on the catwalk of the hanger and waited almost an hour just to see if he could catch them flying in. When he had realized it was actually them, he grinned to himself, mentally praising his intuition as he watched them arrive under is observant gaze.

As the two landed in the tower, nothing appeared out of line, as usual. His warlock friend had mentioned a weird feeling, but he couldn’t observe anything of the nature from either of them. The only thing that was mildly odd was that the warlock helped the titan out of their ship. It was only odd because usually it was the other way around, but he chalked that up to perhaps being a weird couple thing because they walked slowly out of the hanger hand in hand. With nothing more to observe, it was time to be more upfront and as they passed underneath his catwalk, the hunter jumped down quietly before he sprinted past, purposefully clipping Marie’s shoulder with his. At the bump Thao stumbled and looked back, his optics wide with surprise as he held up his hands apologetically. A perfect act.

Marie was bright for a warlock, intellectual of course but she wasn’t the most observant with something on her mind and currently, Anya was all she thought about as they made their careful way home. the warlock flinched with surprise at the sudden attack, her mind instantly being drawn to the present with embarrassed fear. The sudden reaction had the strangest effect on the titan who clutched herself closer to the warlock at the sudden move. Marie corrected herself quickly with a deep blush although both guardians had their helmets on. Despite this it was clear they reacted strangely for just a bump. Titans didn’t just cower.

"I am so sorry- I didn't hurt you, did I?" the hunter asked, sounding genuinely worried as he walked over to them innocently. It must have been a mix of his Exo face and his hunter roots because he was rather convincing in his acting.

Marie shook her head quickly and raised a hand apologetically, “Oh, uh, n-no, you gave me fright” she rushed with embarrassment. Her voice was a little messy with her flustered words, but she had a sweet-sounding French accent with was a little rare in guardians. The warlock subtly squeezed the titan’s hand comfortingly, it would be horrendously bad if she got to frightened here in the middle of the hangar, “I’m easy to scare!” She admitted with a weak laugh, “I wasn’t paying attention, are you ok?” she asked with concern. The titan was silent, her gaze lowered but almost not seeming to be paying attention, just listening, waiting.

The hunter seemed to relax a bit when Marie didn't snap at him and looked between the two, noting their odd behaviour but not reacting to it. For the most part he just looked embarrassed to play the part.

"I guess I wasn't either. Again, sorry about that. I guess I went tunnel visioned." He offered an embarrassed chuckle and scratched at the back of his neck. "I hate to hit and run but I've got somewhere to be." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing in the direction he was running before half turning away. "I'll make it up to ya sometime. Tower's small, I'm sure we'll meet again." He assured, a smile settling into his voice. He didn’t even give them a chance to respond, instead turning away and running off down the hall before rounding the corner.

Marie gave a nod looking confused, “uh, same” she murmured, “have a good night” she replied quickly with a polite wave as he darted off. “Be safe” she added awkwardly, half to herself as she moved on and headed towards the residential floors. Marie wasn’t the best conversationist with normal people, so she wasn’t exactly sure how to properly end that conversation with him rushing off. The titan didn’t speak a word as she walked with the warlock gently, if you looked closely, it appeared she was being led and Marie even seemed to help her climb the few steps in the area which was also a bit strange. The warlock seemed eager to escape with her companion though, that much was certain as they avoided the crowds and went straight home.

With Marie so focused on just getting home and Anya clearly not able to help look out for them, it was easy to miss the hunter duck back around the corner and casually take to following the two. As the couple made their way through the tower to the residential floors, the hunter kept a sizable distance. It was fairly easy to keep up, given that they seemed to be almost slowed for whatever reason. he almost lost them a few times just from how far he kept his distance though, particularly as they took the elevators where it would be somewhat suspicious to see him again, luckily for him though he managed to catch a glimpse of where they lived from the end of the street, certainly peeking his interests. With the observations made, the hunter was able to put a few things together at least.

As they escaped into the depths of the tower, the warlock clearly seemed to be trying her best to act casually. Saying that though, she seemed to not be very good at it as she looked quite tense to the hunters more trained eye. She tried to get into her large apartment quickly as if to avoid too many eyes seeing her and her companion. Once she disappeared inside, the door was securely locked with a lock that was more welcome in a vanguard vault rather than just an apartment which rang some danger bells. There was a window that looked out into the street, but a large heavy curtain blocked the view and despite getting home, no one seemed to open up the window either. if you didn’t know better, there seemed to be no one there, the inside of the apartment seemed like a dead zone, no light escaping the apartment at all to boot, they were clearly hiding something but that something was a mystery.

With the days task complete, he watched as the two slipped into the home taking a mental note of the address before walking the other way as not to be noticed. He'd got enough for the day and didn't want to risk looking suspicious, so he left them alone for now.

Despite having other things, he preferred doing, his Fireteam pushed the hunter to keep looking so the next day he stuck around the area with mild grumbles. He partially wanted to catch them leaving today if he could and if he could work it, he wanted to get a better look of the home they lived in. For the most part it didn't look remarkable. Just a standard apartment, though it was how unremarkable it was that made it stand out to him. Granted if he hadn't had been looking, he would have easily passed it by, but now that it was on his radar it was all he could focus on. After a few hours of walking the block, chatting idly with random acquaintances and enjoying the vibe, he called it, assuming he had missed them leave. he didn’t feel any urgency to push the point, but It was a bit of a sting to his ego if he’d managed to let the two guardians slip by, he convinced himself that it happens though. He would just have to be more careful tomorrow.

The second day he had November hang around the hanger while he checked out the local shops, today he was determined to catch them. It was all fairly out of the way from his apartment, given that it was down in the city, but his fireteam was starting to get on his back about the matter. The warlock was getting anxious and she had already told their titan about it which was another matter. This gave him no choice but to abandon his nightly bar hopping just so he could try and catch a glimpse of those two again. Much to his frustration he didn't see them that day either, further bruising his ego. He couldn't believe he missed them for a second day in a row, though the prospect that maybe they just hadn't left did cross his mind. To spare his pride he assumed that's what it had to be because the other option was ridiculous, there’s no way he missed them, or so he told himself. He'd get another chance tomorrow anyway, though it did mean yet another night without his vices which really didn’t lift his spirits any. This 'simple' scouting mission was beginning to be a bigger pain than he would like.

The third day, the hunter sent a somewhat frustrated message to the warlock, "Either they died in there or they have a libido that would rival mine because they have still not left that house."

The warlock was less than pleased with the news, not thrilled about the situation at all, though she did take the opportunity to tease the hunter to try and raise his spirits a little, not to mention it was fun. The hunter was quick on the reply as a moment later another message came through. "Nasty. You're going to owe me a double for this."

On the fourth day, the hunter sat in the market looking through a data pad rather despondently, it had been far too long since he’d had a drink and he was starting to consider that perhaps he was being played with. He had November scouting around the living quarters, seemingly looking for something irrelevant to the two mysterious guardians while he searched up any data that might get him out of this prison sentence. He was almost surprised when his data pad beeped with a small message. “Found her”.

"Intercept her." Was all he said in return, a new fire of smugness burning proud, it was just a matter of time after all.

When the ghost caught sight of the warlock leaving, she took on her new order, moving to follow the warlock with a sigh. she didn’t want to immediately blow her cover, so she waited until she had observed her leaving habits before zipping after her.

The warlock left the house by herself looking almost rushed. There was no sign of the titan and Marie locked the door securely behind her with a basket looped over her arm as she headed to the market, avoiding talking to too many people as she weaved her way through the crowds. She appeared as if she was on a mission, so the ghost casually floated beside her as she made her way to the market.

"Miss? I'm sorry to bother you. Do you have a second?" The ghost asked politely, seemingly sheepish since it was obvious the warlock was in a hurry. She had to make her act believable after all.

Marie was in civilian robes currently, so she was a little surprised that someone even approached her let alone the fact it was a ghost. She gave a surprised but polite smile in return with an edge of uncomfortable awkwardness on her “uh, of course, how can I help you?” She replied politely as she continued walking, she hoped she could make this conversation quick.

The ghost easily kept pace with her, floating over the crowd when necessary as she seemed to consider her words before replying. "My guardian bumped into you the other day. I was rather embarrassed at the time, so apologies for not saying something sooner, but we would like to make it up to you and introduce ourselves properly." She explained, sounding a bit hopeful before looking shy. “I understand maybe now isn't the best time, but perhaps we could arrange a meeting of sorts?" she offered innocently.

Marie was expecting a lot of things, but she’d honestly forgotten about the hunter in the hangar and looked flustered, “Oh, uh, I mean, it’s ok, really” she assured, subtly panicking a little at the prospect. There was no way she could get away from Anya that long, so she had to try and find an excuse, she focused on moving toward the market. “I’m pretty busy usually” she bluffed apologetically, “but I appreciate the gesture” she added sweetly, “I really do”.

The ghost seemed to deflate a bit at that, her optic glancing away with disappointment, “Oh, I understand..." She murmured, seeming thoughtful before lighting up. “Then, maybe we can just exchange info?" She looked back up; her hope returned. "That way we could at least send you something, maybe even just arrange an order for pickup from Eva's?" She asked cheerfully, seeming to be a bit proud of herself for the idea. She then paused uncertainly, "You've been to Eva's before, right?”.

Marie swallowed hard feeling almost guilty for the little ghost who was trying so hard to win her favour. She truly wasn’t upset though so she finally gave a guilty sigh, “oh, uh, sure...” she finally replied, her politeness winning out. “but really, I don’t need anything” she assured quickly, “I’ve been to Eva’s, but I don’t get out much” she murmured as she entered the Grocery store, starting to pick at the vegetables as she busied herself, hoping the ghost would leave.

“Well, the offer will be there when you want it." The ghost beamed, obviously pleased. "It might be a nice treat to take back home. I know personally my fireteam never turns down Eva's." The ghost certainly seemed to be friendly enough, doing her best to keep up without crowding, even as Marie stopped to gather produce.

Esperer appeared at her shoulder to prepare her information, greeting the ghost with a polite nod, “where’s your guardian?” She asked curiously, her suspicion of the ghost silent. “I don’t see many ghosts wander off without their guardians” she mused, “or are you forcing him to apologise properly” she teased gently. She could relate a little because sometimes she felt like she had to mother Marie to do her work over spending time playing with Anya.

When Esperer popped up however, she backed off just a bit more. "Thao?" She asked, looking a bit embarrassed at the mention of her guardian and the thought of making him apologize. "He's a hard one to pin down... I'll admit, the offering is mostly my idea, but he needs to learn he can't just blow stuff off. It's a bad habit of his so I'm holding him to it." She stated with a determined nod, not realizing that she's enabling his behaviour by doing it for him. She was clearly dedicated to him in her own way though and Esperer admired that.

Marie looked up with a little surprise and gave a gentle smile, “Well thank you, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth myself” she admitted with a sigh, relaxing a little. “I forget I buy things sometimes and it goes off, a waste of glimmer” she muttered with mild annoyance at herself, “and Anya can’t eat it so- “she paused realising what she said and instantly looked flustered, blushing as she searched for an explanation. “she works a lot, so she never has time when she visits” she added quickly focusing on the shopping sternly.

“Oh- I understand." The ghost said, seeming to deflate a little. If she had noticed anything weird in Marie’s behaviour, she didn't make it obvious. She did however notice the change in the warlock’s attitude, easily assuming she was possibly irritating her.

Esperer gave her guardian a brief frustrated look before shaking her head, “well at least one of you is polite, I guess that’s fine” she smiled pleasantly, trying to change the tone. “well, here’s my details” she offered, opening a comms link for the ghost, trying to change the topic. Despite the offer of data, everything other than Marie’s basic information was locked tight, it was certainly almost uncomfortably untrusting as only what the strange ghost requested was there, “so who are you anyway?” She asked.

When the ghost didn't seem to share her irritation she relaxed a bit, her tone gentle. "He's a good guardian, and an excellent hunter, really, he's just..." She sighed, unable to make an excuse. "You know..." With that she let the sentence die and sent Esperer her own information, though it was significantly more detailed than theirs. When Esperer spoke up the ghost was in the middle of looking through the info, momentarily distracted by the vagueness of it.

"Hmm?" She perked up a bit at the question before quickly becoming horrified at the realization she didn't give a proper introduction. "Oh! How rude of me- and to think I was just chastising Thao for being so impolite..." She murmured before righting herself and offering a nod. “I'm November, ghost to my hunter Thao-3. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." She stated with a smile to her voice, though it was obvious she was embarrassed.

Marie seemed to loosen up a bit realising the ghost, now named November, didn’t seem to notice her slip up thankfully. “that’s a nice name” she smiled gently as she headed to the counter to pay for her food. She still didn’t want to linger though just in case her tongue slipped again.

Esperer smiled politely, watching her guardian’s words carefully, “I’m Esperer” she added with a little French accent before chuckling, “but you can call me hope, it’s a pleasure, this is Marie, do you both work on the field?” She asked curiously.

The warlock blushed as she realised, she too had forgotten to mention her name. “Right, is a pleasure” she nodded before paying for her groceries.

November seemed to get a little flustered at the compliment, an awkward giggle escaping her as she followed. "I could say the same about you two. Very pretty names." She offered, doing her best to stay out of the way as they chatted. “Typically, Thao and I do work with our fireteam but recently, our fireteam lead has been focusing more on community work." She explained before tilting her shell curiously. "What about you two?”.

Marie picked up her basket and absently walked out of the shop, having lost her urgency for the moment. “I work in the information centre among other things” She replied, “I don’t really enjoy field work” she admitted. She paused briefly to decide on the next shop she needed before moving on, “I tend to work from home in fact so I can research in my down time, and of course if the vanguard requires it” she added looking a little awkward. “I’m not so great with people” she trailed off, “so I prefer solo work”.

November made a little noise of approval, as if impressed with how the warlock had arranged her work and personal life to work in her favour. "That sounds really nice! I would love to have a more laid-back job..." She sighed, following them out and to the meat shop. "But Thao would probably end up driving me up a wall with how bored he'd get..." As she rambled, she didn't notice them stop short and floated a bit in front of them before stopping when Marie spoke up.

Esperer nodded with agreement as they ducked into a shop selling meat, but they didn’t spend long there after looking at the time and the warlock paled with a fluster of French words that surely November couldn’t understand. “oh, uh, you know, I should really hurry home, I said I’d only be away for five minutes” she admitted awkwardly, “they will be so upset” she muttered to herself with concern.

"Oh? Okay, I understand." She said with a smile, though she looked to be a bit uncomfortable after catching Marie’s awkwardness. "It was a pleasure either way! You have my info so if you ever need us just shoot me a message." She offered politely with a nod.

Marie nodded a bit absently, her mind elsewhere, “uh, take care, be brave” she replied politely as she ducked past, walking quickly towards her home. She was clearly worried about something, but it wasn’t clear what or why.

“You are too!" November called out, looking after the two with a bit of confusion. Once they were a sizable distance away, she floated off to go look for her guardian, her processor going over the odd interaction. It looked a bit suspicious as Marie returned home, entering as carefully as she did. Even worse, she yet again didn’t leave for days at a time. After Nove's little interaction with Marie though, they had what they needed, and Thao's stalking had slowed too practically nothing. Occasionally he would scope the markets, maybe take a walk past their home randomly, but this was few and far between. Now that he had their information, no matter how small, he focused most of his time into finding out more about them.

In the time that they remained hidden, it was mildly frustrating as they couldn’t get any more information about the two from November’s little talk, but it wasn’t that much of a hurdle. In searching up the warlock’s details, she apparently hadn’t lied. She was in fact most often in the information centre although she did work from home as she said, the only thing she hadn’t specifically mentioned was that she was a research specialist that advised when necessary, she worked a lot on earth. Marie’s record was clean too, she had a few marks on her name, one of those being that in the case she is sent out on the field, she is recommended to bring one other person, preferably titan in nature as a guard. She was noted to not pay as much attention as she should. It all matched up.

What didn’t line up however was the name Anya. The name referred to a few guardians who had taken up the name over the years however there seemed to be only one titan under the name. According to the data, that guardian was last seen almost seven years ago, considered lost in action and dead. Last seen on the moon, her ghost and ship were later recovered along with the second titan who was also thought lost on the same expedition. Her ghost was alive apparently, working as a companion to an ‘arctic’. A warlock later noted to be a French warlock named Marie herself. There was a potential for Anya to refer to someone else, but it was an odd detail that there was no explanation for.

Nothing specifically stood out really, the titan could sort of be explained by Marie’s record, the ghost labelled as Iskra, or the translation, sparks, worked with her as a communication help. They all worked from a residence in the city which explained everything other than the fact that the titan seemed to exclusively exist when they left the tower, not to mention the fact that the apartment was a dead zone of energy.

Perhaps it was for her works secrecy but surely the vanguard wasn’t making her do such delicate work in a place like that. Much to Thao’s frustration he couldn't find anything that offered any information of use to his team. Literally nothing, and while the warlock did at least have a handful of information on her, it all meant nothing. There were no real red flags which made him wonder, was she genuinely a good person or did she have more power than she let on. The idea was enough to make him uneasy, eventually leading him to suggesting that their titan should start accompanying the warlock who’d started all this. All parties involved weren't happy with the idea, especially when it took a few more weeks before the couple surfaced again. When they did though the two would be ready, waiting for them to get close, before striking.

Before The guardians went out to the wilds again, Thao just seemed to appear occasionally in a continued effort to keep an eye on them. He was either window shopping, walking down the halls, or enjoying a bite at the many restaurants. It wasn't every time Marie went out, though it was enough to notice if the warlock ever paid attention.


	3. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instinct often leads to misunderstandings

It was another few weeks before the mysterious Marie surfaced for more than a shopping trip. She was armoured up and looked as if she was heading out. as they had come to expect, the even more mysterious titan followed the warlock as well. Despite the various levels of surveillance, they had been under, it was noticeably clear that for whatever reason, the titan seemed to live with Marie and never leave the house, it was either that or she just popped out of existence and that wasn’t very likely. Thao didn’t waste any time in casually tailing the two as he sent his fireteam a message, they had reached the hangar and they were most definitely heading out, where was a mystery but they were about to find out if the two guardians went back to their usual picnic place.

From the tower, it certainly wasn’t clear where Marie was going immediately as they took off. they left the city boundaries in a manner that might suggest that they were going somewhere else, but they changed direction once they had put some space between them and the city though, heading once more towards the abandoned area of forest they had been too many times prior, Unaware of their impending problem. Marie had been given the place by their ever-resourceful hunter friend, Yelizaveta, and the area was an old battlefield that had long since grown over. Marie had found the place perfect for Anya in particular because it was a nice flat area where the blind titan could walk around with less chance of hurting herself and tripping. She used the area to work on the titan’s mobility and smaller ideas that she couldn’t test because of the intense light of the tower.

While the intention was pure, Marie did act a little strangely, they landed somewhere separately to her ship and camped almost half an hour away from their ship, as if they didn’t want to be found. It inevitably led to moving towards the unknown bunker. Marie herself had notices some ‘extra voices’ that Anya could hear in some areas, so she was always sure to stay far enough away that Anya wasn’t bothered by whatever seemed to be in the area.

Marie of course thought that the area was vacant so, as per usual, she didn’t hesitate to settle into their monthly picnic, allowing Anya to take her helmet off so she could get some fresh air. The warlock of course only had eyes for Anya, so she suspected nothing, simply focusing on her titan’s happiness.

Inside the bunker, a warlock and titan sat in silence, their ghosts mulling over the information they knew and looking for updates on the area around the bunker. Both were deep in thought, the warlock mulling over the information Thao dug up while the titan considered their next course of action. Preferably the two hoped to keep collateral damage to a minimum with as little force as necessary, but because of the information they were given they couldn't know what to expect. This left the titan in particular on edge, solar fire prickling at his skin while the warlock was left in anticipation.

Initially she hadn't told Thao about the weird readings she had gotten from her specimens, partially because she was more worried about potentially having to move, but when Thao mentioned a Titan supposedly had died on the moon, that piqued an interest.

So many theories ran through her head, each one more enticing than the last, leaving her distracted when her ghost finally popped up, signalling the couple's arrival. It wasn't as if they needed to be told, considering the closer they grew the more of a reaction Astra's collection had. For the titan, the scene was deeply unsettling considering the mixed responses of the items. Some acted as if beckoning to the new presence while others shut down or seemed to panic. It definitely left an air of impending danger, though the warlock instead looked to be almost amazed by it.

"Astra." The titan alerted, his voice low and stern. The warlock perked up; a bit startled as she was pulled from her thoughts before grinning widely, more than ready to learn the cause of such a reaction, it was all that was needed to get them ready to move. Before the two left Astra grabbed a bag off the table and bounded up the stairs, following the much more stoic titan to the two unaware guardians.

The walk for the Astra and her mysterious friend was short however, it was long enough for Marie to set up their picnic but not nearly long enough to enjoy it. The titan wasn’t in any real rush to settle this affair and it showed, Astra on the other hand was practically glowing with excitement, so much so that when they were close enough for their footsteps to be heard, Astra didn't hesitate to walk out into the open, leaving the titan in the tree line.

Anya was the first to pick up the approach of the two, hearing the overwhelmingly excitable whispers from Astra. Anya froze to listen, hearing the whispers of darkness inside Astra, the voice resembled that of Marie in a way, but it was not so overshadowed by light. Before Marie could ask what was bothering Anya, they were disrupted by Astra bounding out of the forest. Marie didn’t even try to look at who approached before she moved to put the titan’s helmet on, terrified that today was going to be the day their lives would fall apart. She had mixed emotions as Marie turned around to see the warlock and especially the titan who lingered in the tree line, her fear turned to almost visible terror and while the helmet certainly wasn’t a smooth action, she picked her own up as if to pretend she was following suit, subtly moved closer to the titan. Anya easily picked up on her warlock’s intense fear and turned from confused to defensive, focusing on the glowing blurs moving out of the tree line.

"It's you!" Astra beamed, clasping her hands together and bouncing on her toes, it was noticeably clear she didn’t share anyone else’s ominous mood. "Marie and Anya, am I right?" she questioned bluntly with excitement. Despite being fully robed in intrepid warlock Armor, Astra could be heard plain as day, her voice friendly and excited. Anya in particular stiffened up as there was an edge of a very familiar feeling in the air, hive. While it was unclear where the feeling came from specifically, Anya knew it came from Astra and stiffened further, eyeing her with distrust, even she knew hive was bad despite her existence.

“Uh, I’m s-sorry...” Marie replied barely above a whisper before clearing her throat and repeating it louder. “How do you know me? I uh, I mean uh, we can leave, are we trespassing?” She asked quickly, no force behind her voice. “we can go” she promised quickly.

Not long after Astra left the safety of the tree line, the titan stepped out to follow ominously, his form large and intimidating. He too was fully armoured, though his gear was that of a vanguard employed Titan that worked the wall, albeit a much older set. He said nothing as he watched the three, acting as a looming presence as Astra lead the interaction.

"Oh, you're definitely trespassing." She assured, a smile in her voice despite clearly seeing the blatant fear on the guardians. "But I'm glad you did” she admitted. "You're both a rather curious couple. Especially your titan friend." Astra directed towards Anya, her head tilting a bit as her tone changed to confusion. "Though I'm not sure why..." She continued, ignoring Marie’s offer for them to leave. "But I have a few theories" She added with interest.

Anya wasn’t sure where she should look as the titan approached, Astra's light looked gentle in comparison to the titan who settled behind her though, that much she could tell. Astra Showed a strong connection to void, much like their own hunter’s tendencies, she recognised the more subdued purple even if it did appear different, caressing her almost. The titan however resembled a glowing beacon that was solar in nature, much like Marie herself only it was odd to explain. The titan ahead of them was more of a darker golden glow while Marie looked brighter and more welcoming. As she spoke, Astra pulled open the little bag and produced an odd stone with a glowing green rune on it. She studied it for a moment, how it's light flared seemed to react but to what was a mystery.

Marie got up uncertainly, forgetting her helmet in her care to ensure Anya followed. she clearly realised the warlock wouldn’t be a problem, the titan would be, and she wasn’t physically strong enough to fight off a titan. She also couldn’t risk using a super with Anya here and she would be bold to assume that a super would do anything to this older titan. Marie swallowed hard with nervousness, “oh uh I’m so sorry, we were just looking for somewhere private for a date. you know how it is...” she explained looking deeply flustered, “we will go, we are going, I am so sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here” she assured quickly, helping Anya up and ignoring her prods as subtly as she could. As they began to back away, Anya was clearly beginning to hesitate, her body language looking stiff and defensive but there seemed to be something silent that kept her from saying or doing anything. One thing was becoming clear though, there was a dark feeling that she began to put off as Anya instinctively whispered to her curses and they started to respond.

At hearing Marie state that they were leaving, Astra looked to them with a little tilt to her head, as if confused. "But you can't leave?" She explained, sparing a brief look to her guard before continuing. "I think there's been a misunderstanding." She started, walking towards them casually, even picking up Marie’s forgotten helmet when she was close enough after pocketing the rune. "You both haven't necessarily done anything wrong, so you can relax." She assured. "But you have prompted a few questions, even if it wasn't intentional" She added. She had fully intended to keep going but stopped when she was still a decent distance away, picking up on the darkness that had begun to shadow the silent titan.

"Like." She tried to continue, her words leaving her as she focused on Anya. For a moment she was quiet, as if startled; but as quickly as she was thrown off, she slipped right back on track, obviously growing excited. "Like you!" She directed to Anya, absentmindedly hugging Marie's helmet to her chest. "You're not human, are you? Or maybe you are but your tainted in some way? Oh, I'd love to talk to you." Astra sighed at the end, obviously swooning at the possibility of figuring this out, and making it blatantly clear she wasn't going to leave them alone.

Anya seemed confused between the intense fear Marie felt and the words being spoken, she reluctantly held back as Marie desperately squeezed her hand though. She kept her gaze on the two somewhat blurred figures of light in front of them, she could only just tell what class they were. Marie started backing up, attempting one more time to just leave. “I’m sorry, we won’t come back, I promise” she urged. She didn’t care about the picnic setup on the ground nor her discarded helmet that was now in the strange warlocks’ hands, she just focused on backing up slowly in the hopes they could just leave, she didn’t want to fight, and she was terrified of losing Anya. A part of her probably knew that this was the end of the road, but she desperately hoped it wasn’t.

At that Astra seemed to be stricken and partially confused as to why Marie would still be so keen on leaving. The titan on the other had already assumed this is how things were going to go and started to make his way towards the group.

"But I'm sure this is far more important." Astra argued, moving to take a few steps forward. Before she could take another step however, she seemed to flinch, looking to the titans approaching form and lowering her head a bit, as if submitting. Whatever happened must have been said privately over their shared comms because Astra didn't move to follow the girls anymore.

"She's right." The titan stated to Marie out loud, his voice deep and levelled. "This is far more important, considering the circumstances". He stepped past Astra until there was only a few feet from the couple before stopping and crossing his hands. "I work for the City, and from my understanding so do you, which means you know potentially dangerous contraband is strictly prohibited." He reasoned, his tone level despite the sternness in his voice. "You specifically have made it clear you are hiding something, and judging from my team member's research, whatever it is warrants questions to be asked." He continued, making it clear this is no longer a friendly chat, but a potential investigation. " That being said. We can have a civil discussion about this, or I can do my job." It was obviously a threat, but it was clear they were on their last chance and it wasn’t certain whether he had already involved anyone else or not.

Marie paled, looking almost sick as she teared up, visibly shrinking and she could only struggle out a terrified whisper “it’s complicated... please don’t- “. It was then that the silent titan seemed to decide to move despite no interaction prior. She cut her warlock off as she pulled Marie into her arms supportively, continuing to back up silently but staring directly at the titan. Cendric kept his gaze levelled with Marie as she seemed to break, though he didn't act as if he was going to reply to her plead, leaving the air open for her to decide what would happen. Obviously when Anya chose to move, that opportunity was revoked, made clear with the way the titan seemed to go rigid and step towards the two. He didn't get far however, stopping short when the Titan's darkness took a more dangerous turn.

It was almost instant as the subtle darkness she was putting off, it became a heavy threat, choking up the air almost with the intensity of Anya’s defensiveness. Black misty smoke appeared faintly around them as Anya quietly started to mutter in Marie’s ear. While she wasn’t loud enough that the two guardians could hear her pained straining voice yet, she was clearly speaking hive as Marie didn’t recognise the deep guttural words that sounded almost song-like in a string of curses. Marie could only look to Anya with fear, “Anya, no, don’t, please, don’t hurt them” she begged quietly, tearing up further.

"Ma'am I recommend you ceasing. Now." The titan blatantly demanded, offering a final warning as Astra seemed to begin to panic behind him.

"Cendric-" Astra started anxiously, giving Cendric enough of a hint as to what she was implying.

"We have an obligation." He stated, his eyes locked onto Anya as she seemed to get ready for something. “Don't make me question your loyalty." He warned.

The titan responded by holding Marie tighter, the mist that had seemed to spread slowly quickly surrounded the two retreating guardians on command. a burning hive circle appeared at Anya’s feet before bursting around them and the mist seemed to swallow them whole with a burst of dark green fire. It wasn’t hard to pick them up in the distance, the hive energy was hard to miss but they had clearly teleported, a familiar technique known to wizards in particular. With that the girls were gone, leaving the two looking around for where they could have gone. After a moment Cendric put a hand to his ear, as if getting a message before looking towards where the girls had gone.

"Come on." He ordered to a rather anxious Astra before running off towards the girls, a hammer transmatting onto his hip. When the two were close, give or take a yard or two, Cendric shouted out to them. When they found the two, the titan was being supported by the warlock looking exhausted, they clearly hadn’t got far but despite this the titan straightened up and moved to face Cendric with a low growl “leave us alone....” the darkness beginning to surround her again.

"Last warning! Resist and force will be used." He called, his silver hammer glinting threateningly on his hip.

Marie looked distraught, “Anya, please, you’re going to hurt if not kill yourself, please, I’m begging you” she whimpered, trying pull her away, Anya resisted though.

The titan’s exhaustion was clearly weaker than her anger, almost hatred. Her will equally as strong as she stood protectively in front of Marie, holding her hand tightly, “stay near me, I’ll protect you” she simply replied in rough common, pain deep in her voice, making her sound as if she was severely dehydrated at best. The mist that formed around the titan once more created a bubble around the two this time and while it was certainly heavy before, Marie could feel the deep oppressive darkness around her, almost making it impossible to see though, her light was snuffed out completely. While it wasn’t affecting her health, she clearly could not use her own light while Anya was on the defensive.

The effort was clearly heavy on Anya as she was starting to breathe heavily but she brought her hands together, letting Marie go. She brought her fist to her palm expectantly despite the effort she appeared to be putting in. “leave, I’m not allowing my light, to be snuffed out by you...” she hissed dangerously towards the two, her threat directed clearly towards the two strangers. Her voice was rough and pained but it was immediately clear that despite her obvious limitations, she paid them no heed.

It took Astra a moment to catch up, stopping short when she saw the state Anya was in. It was obvious she was reluctant to fight, or even push the two further for that matter, but Cendric didn't seem to mind. Marie herself looked defeated, starting to cry helplessly, she hadn’t wanted it to lead to this. She feared Anya would kill the two of them permanently and while the only other option was painful to consider, she wanted to stop the titan becoming a murderer. “please, Anya, Ma Ourse...” she begged weakly.

Cendric returned the threatening sentiment by pulling out his hammer. "Cendric wait- She's obviously sick, we can't-" Astra started, panic slipping into her tone, only to be answered by Cendric swinging his hammer downwards, the tool erupting into solar fire. Astra jolted at the display, her body trembling as Cendric eyed Anya down, as if waiting to see if she moved first.

Anya stood where she was, staring him down expectantly and as furious as ever, she was clearly waiting for his action which may have reflected her own titan training. Despite her best attempts that even the two attacking guardians could see, Marie clearly wasn’t able to sway her, leaving her looking distraught and defeated but she simply waited to know it was over anyway.

With the two acting like the most titan of titan’s, neither one backing down, it was as if the two were in a silent standoff, Cendric's form unmoving as flames licked at his hand While Anya’s darkness seemed equally as frightening. Astra, much like Marie, could only stand and watch, looking between the group with baited break, praying that this wouldn't end in bloodshed.

As the two stood there, it felt like hours, but it soon became clear who was going to lose. As the minutes went by, Anya clearly started to struggle, the mist almost flickering between strengths as the titan started to sway with exhaustion, but she managed to hold it up protectively, not wanting to give in until she couldn’t hold it anymore. Her body gave out before her will did, forcing her to collapse to her knees. while she tried to catch herself, she didn’t have the strength in her arms to even hold herself up anymore and she ended up on the ground. It was only then that the mist disappeared slowly, showing just how much darkness she had been holding there. Despite feeling more than protected by the immense darkness around her, Marie was in part glad to be released from the pressure however the consequences were not as pleasant, it appeared as if Anya was lifeless almost.

For the longest time it looked as if Cendric could maintain his flame and his stance indefinitely, almost as if he was a statue. Light however had a limit, and as Anya reached hers, he reached his. To Astra it looked as if the two had ran out of steam at the same time, though while Anya dropped to Marie’s feet, Cendric only dropped his hammer. With the flames gone the hammer still looked as if it was glowing red hot, setting the grass it landed on immediately on fire. Cendric didn't seem to care at that moment, his eyes still on the Titan's form as Marie gathered Anya up in her arms. Astra stepped up next to Cendric, her hands clasped in front of her mouth at seeing the heartbreaking display, neither of them daring to speak.

On seeing Anya fall, Marie let out a pained whimper, immediately dropping down to bring the titan into her arms tearfully. The warlock shifted to take Anya’s helmet off to reveal an extremely sick looking person. She was so dull you could barely tell she was awoken, and she stared tiredly, barely able to focus on the one who held her. Blood surfaced from her lips and eyes ominously, her breathing shallow. Marie cried as she pressed her forehead again the titan’s, ignoring the mess. “ma Ourse, shh, stay with me, please” she begged weakly. Marie at this point had forgotten about the threat that was now behind them, simply focusing on the broken titan in her arms. She knew it was over for them both anyway but at least if they died together, then that would be ok. Marie simply held Anya close, utterly defeated, there would be no more fighting from her.

After what felt like several minutes Cendric waved at the hammer and immediately it was transmatted away while he took a step forward. “Stand." He demanded, no trace of emotion in his voice. Astra looked to him; a bit taken back before looking to Marie.

Marie didn’t look away from the titan in her arms, “just kill us, I know I’m in the wrong” she replied weakly, “if she must die, then make me suffer with her”. Her voice sounded dead and defeated, “I should have known, expected even” she admitted, “I just, I couldn’t do it...” she murmured with a sniff, “she was getting better. I did everything I could...”. Marie’s gaze moved to a patch of Black that was now appearing through the cloth of the titan’s armour and from underneath her plates. She however had long since accepted the consequences of her actions and while she was afraid of death, she was ready for it now after the choice that Anya had made, she threw away her own life just to protect Marie. “Just kill us both” she repeated sounding empty. There was no response from the titan in her arms, she wasn’t dead, but she clearly wasn’t there anymore.

Cendric said nothing as he loomed over the two, allowing Marie to speak freely. He could have been weighing his options or simply just thinking of the best way to kill them. The man was so unreadable that even Astra looked up to him with uncertainty. "...Cendric?" She probed, looking up to him cautiously.

After a moment Cendric finally spoke again, walking up to the two. "Gather the Warlock. I’ve got the Titan." He ordered, kneeling in front of Marie. Astra jolted a bit at the order, not sure of what to make of it, but it was enough of a hesitation for Cendric to explain. “We're relocating." He stated, looking specifically to Marie. "So, either get up and walk, or I carry both of you." His tone was just as emotionless, as if he were simply stating a fact. This time he didn't give her the chance to answer however and reached forward to try and take Anya from her, positioning his hands as if he was going to cradle the Titan.

Marie wanted to fight him, hesitating briefly as he approached to take her, but she knew she wouldn’t be strong enough if she tried. The warlock didn’t understand what was happening, but she let Anya go painfully. Truthfully, she didn’t know if Anya was ok or not, let alone if she’d ever see Anya again, but she hoped she would be fine, the other option was too painful to consider. she thought that maybe Anya was in a hive induced coma, like when she’d first been found on the moon, but she couldn’t tell when she was this severely damaged and covered with armour.

Despite expectation, Cendric didn't try to pry Anya away, not wanting to injure her further, though with the way he moved in, it left the grieving warlock with two options. Let go, or potentially hurt her more. As Marie released her hold Cendric fixed his, cradling her as if she was a sleeping child. When he was comfortable with her position he stood, turning away from Marie, walking off in the direction of the bunker.

Marie found it hard to bring herself to stand, she wished she could do anything, but she couldn’t, so she didn’t fight anymore, following with heavy defeat. Anya didn’t react at all; she was disturbing to look at in his arms and incredibly light for a titan. Her armour was the lightest variety and combined with her body, she was lighter than even a Kinderguardian titan.

Astra could only just stare as Marie picked herself up, her heart bleeding for the awoken as she made her way after Cendric. “I'm-" She started, walking with Marie to offer support, but ended up not finishing her sentence. Instead, she looked away, looking incredibly ashamed for being the reason for so much heartache.

For a while they just walked deeper into the forest, and further away from any recently trafficked areas. At first it seemed Cendric didn’t know where he was going until a partially circular object came into view. The closer they got the easier it was to make out that it was in fact a cabal drop pod, perfectly centred on a half-crushed building.

Marie followed with confusion, as first it had felt like a death march as she was forced to follow, now she was just confused. was the plan to kill them there where no one could track them or did the two legitimately want to be peaceful now. she didn’t want to trust them but given she had no choice, she simply followed in the hopes that she could get the chance to help and or free Anya.

During the walk, the titan had shifted ever so slightly from looking dead to starting to let out pained whimpers as she was moved. While initially she had seemed to get worse as the black blood spread, it was a few minutes before even those wounds seemed to stop spreading, as if her body just decided to stop bleeding. By the time they reached the bunker Anya was still extremely distant, but it appeared as if the titan was beginning a ‘natural’ recovery, only it was inhumanly fast.

After rounding the building Cendric walked up on an open storm cellar and didn't hesitate to start making his way down. Astra looked to Marie once they were at the steps and waited for her follow suit. Marie certainly looked reluctant, but she made her way down into the small space as directed. it immediately opened into what could only be considered as a warlock's dream. Specimens, canisters, artifacts, and research of all walks of life were strewn amongst the space, covering nearly every square inch. The only thing that looked immaculate was the large examination table in the centre of the room, but even that was now about to be occupied by Anya.

During the walk Cendric hadn't focused on Anya's broken form, too preoccupied with finding the bunker. Now however that he was moving to lay her on the table did he see just how much she had recovered. It was enough to make him pause, having to take a moment to register. It was as if he was snapped out of it when Astra shut the cellar doors with a clatter, pulling his hands away now that she was flat on the table.

"I’m. Um..." Astra started as she descended the steps looking to Cendric as he glanced to her from over his shoulder.

"Going to get a med kit?" Cendric asked flatly as he reached up to pull off his helmet, revealing an older African man with long greying dreads. At first nothing seemed to be too off about him aside from his age, but when he looked to Marie it was easy to see the three long scars that cut down his face, and his one dead eye that seemed to stare through her. For a moment he just looked to her as Astra stuttered out something before scurrying off to a separate part of the space to rummage for a med kit. “Tell me." He started, turning to Marie fully as he worked to unclasp his gauntlet. "What was your intentions with keeping this Titan this way?”.

Marie was quite clearly scared of him but despite this, she moved over to Anya tearfully to start checking her over, looking briefly to the titan warily. Cendric watched as the warlock approached, taking a step back to allow her past. He watched her every move and listened as she explained herself. “if I could fix it I would” she murmured “I’ve been trying, but I’m convinced she is too far gone, it’s just, she isn’t aggressive. Normally.” She sighed with defeat. “she just wanted to protect me, and I wanted to protect her because the tower will have her killed. I was going to do it myself but- “.

She was interrupted by the shy and frightened appearance of a ghost with pulsing neon lights set into her shell, “I couldn’t do it” she looked ashamed. “I didn’t want to be alone” she admitted with guilt, floating down to settle beside the broken titan’s head with concern, “First I was just saying goodbye, but I couldn’t, and we were taking her home so I could do it there, where it was safe, and we were going to end her there but then she started getting better and the thought of being alone... she’s right here. Just.” she trailed off weakly, “it’s my fault...” she mumbled.

As The ghost popped to life to life to seemingly take the blame, Astra stepped up to the other side of the table, closer to Cendric, and placed an armful of supplies. Cendric looked away from the guilty party long enough to pull his glove, exposing a scorched and blistered hand before offering it to His warlock companion. Astra looked startled by the display and rushed to pick through the supplies, before gently taking Cendric's hand in hers to work on it.

Marie swallowed hard, not noticing the two as she gently checked Anya’s pulse and shook her head, “no, we both have blame...” she added and pressed a gentle kiss to the titan’s forehead. “I promised to look after her. she’s harmless as long as she isn’t scared” she explained weakly. “I know you can’t tell now but I promise, and she just wanted to protect me. she did the only thing she knows how to do” Marie finished.

"You're right." Cendric stated, looking to the two flatly. "It is your fault. And the only reason You-" He directed to Marie before looking to the ghost. "And your guardian is not dead is solely because she didn't attack." For a moment he just stared at the two, letting the information sink in, only for something to flash in his eyes, his muscles tensing. He looked to Astra who cringed away a bit, offering a quiet apology before finishing bandaging up his hand, obviously having hurt him.

With a hum of annoyance Cendric looked back to the two. "I understand it’s hard to lose a guardian, but you both have endangered not only yourselves, but the city, and this Titan." He explained, gesturing to Anya with his free hand.

He looked to Iskra with a furrowed brow, his tone cold. "Tell me. Is she suffering?” He questioned bluntly.

Skye looked a mix of guilt with a flicker of annoyance, for him to pretend to care now was almost an insult. “I don’t need you to tell me how lucky we are, but I’m not about to bow down to you forgiving us mercy, I don’t want your mercy, just end it if you’re going too, it’s a waste of time to drag it out” she replied bluntly before she sighed and continued. “I wouldn’t have done any of this if I truly believed she was dangerous. she was barely a corpse when I found her on the moon” she muttered, “she was too weak to move after...” she chose to skip the next details with a huff, “she barely survived transmat. the moon wasn’t safe, we had to leave, and her ghost wasn’t ready, so I risked it for her” she paused to look at Iskra, “I couldn’t take a ghosts guardian away like that”.

Marie sighed and found the titan’s hand to bring it to her cheek, “I won’t apologise for trying to save her. I may have started with the intention of killing her. saving her from this.” She admitted, “but she is worth more than that and the more I looked after her, the more I realised this” she added. The warlock bit her lip with defeat, “It started out that I was just looking after a living corpse, she was a titan once and I wanted to give her the respect and pride she deserved. the more time spent with her, the more I realised she was still there” Marie explained, “The first and only word she could speak to me when I first found her was her ghosts name, she only wanted to say goodbye. She had accepted death, that much was clear, but I could tell, she wanted to stay with her ghost, she didn’t want anything else. even with all that dark, you’d think that she’d want power or to kill, anything, but there was nothing. she still protected me, she saved me from the depths, from you” she admitted. “regardless of what people might think...” she lightened up on gazing at the titan “this woman isn’t a monster”.

Iskra seemed quiet and guilty but looked up to the titan, looking to him directly, “Her name is Anya by the way” sparks murmured, “she is still my guardian, even if she doesn’t walk in the light anymore. She is still my other half” she looked proud despite her other emotions, clearly fighting for her guardian’s humanity.

After a moment, the ghosts gaze flicked back to Anya, “She was suffering when we brought her back and I promised myself, just one night and then I’ll let Marie kill her. I’d spent just as much time as her on the moon and the last time I saw her was when she left me safe in her ship. Anya made me promise her that I would return to the tower without her, but I couldn’t, and I spent so long there that I had long lost the ability to connect to the traveller. it was too far away but I couldn’t leave her on the moon by herself.” Iskra looked down with guilt “I made her promise to keep her armour tracker on and I watched her fight in the depths for a while... and then she stopped moving. I thought she was finally dead. I genuinely thought the hive had finally killed her. I thought she was free from what she was turning into” she trailed off before looking up to Cendric.

“I don’t know how she feels all the time, she can’t talk like she used too, but I know she is happy to be with Marie and me. She has nightmares but after four years in the depths, you would have nightmares too. her body is getting stronger, and unless she must fight, she is fine. more than fine and Marie is doing everything she can to help her so that she is safe to be around” she looked to Marie with grateful affection before returning to Cendric.

“she may never be normal again, but I believe it is worth keeping her here, Anya is still here. you can talk to her, see her speaking back, she is alive” she argued. at this point the ghost was getting a bit heated in her words, “and traveller help me I have no purpose without her so I don’t care if we will never be together again in the light. I will be alone in the light, but I will never leave her alone in the dark! I will keep going for her” she finished with a proud huff. “kill us both if you’re going too because there’s no point in me existing without her”. the ghost looked passionately at Cendric, her stance clear, he would have to kill them both, but she clearly was not giving up on her guardian “she would have been fine if we could just go in the first place” she added with annoyance.

Cendric watched the two with a hard expression as they spoke, once again giving the courtesy of hearing them out. When they were finished though Cendric pulled his fully bandaged hand away and crossed his arms. “All of that, and yet you told no-one." He stated, not sounding specifically annoyed.

"I understand." Astra started softly, earning a brief look from Cendric. "As much as it's a guardian's duty to protect, it’s also our nature to help, especially a fellow guardian." She continued, ignoring Cendric's look, though she did seem to shrink under it, even if he wasn't glaring. “I would have done the same thing." She smiled softly. "And in the past, I've tried. But-" She trailed off, looking as if a painful memory clawed its way into her mind.

"You had an obligation and a job to do." Cendric stated to her, earning him a defeated glance. He just looked to her a moment before nodding in the direction of the separate room, signalling her to leave. After a glance to the warlock, she reluctantly obeyed, leaving the group alone.

Cendric didn't bother to watch her leave and looked to the warlock and ghost. "My intentions here today were to find out what was going on and if it was a threat to the City. Obviously, that is not the case." He explained, glancing to Anya. "Even when threatened she only went on the defence, while you were quick to surrender. So legally, I couldn't kill you." He continued, looking to Marie with a level of annoyance. "Even if I wanted to."

With that, he held up his hand and summoned a data pad, typing on it as he spoke. "So, this is the situation now. You could collaborate with my warlock so she can get a better understanding of just what has happened to this Titan and you can both potentially be let go, unreported. Or-" He paused, looking up to them with a calm expression and tone. "You can try to leave, and you will be reported, Though I doubt you'll get far with her like that-" He gestured to Anya and her unconscious state. "But it's better than the third option." He added, finishing up typing on the data pad.

"So" He sat the tablet on the table and looked to Marie. "What would you like to do?” He asked bluntly.

The ghost and guardian both seemed wary almost, not believing his words and Marie looked uncomfortable at the offers. “can we go home or at least after a while so I can look after her properly. I can look after her in a brief sense but only for a day in the field” she asked carefully. While she didn’t want to press her luck, she simply couldn’t care for Anya properly without her work at home.

Cendric eyed her consideringly for a moment, cocking an eyebrow as he glanced to Anya. “Hmm... If Astra doesn't have the resources, you need then that would make sense..." He murmured to himself before glancing to Astra. The young awoken went rigid at the look, anxiously anticipating Cendric's response. “Astra. You'll go with them home until you've gathered enough research to prove this is either irreversible, or non-lethal to civilians." He ordered while Astra's eyes went wide with surprise.

“I-" She started, looking to Marie anxiously. "I'm not sure if-"

"Are you saying you can't do it... Or won't?" Cendric challenged, earning him a startled look from Astra.

For a moment they just looked at each other as Astra seemed to be remembering something. “I- I can... I'll do it." She assured, lowering her head a bit in defeat.

"You won't have a problem with this, will you?" Cendric looked to Marie, his tone not nearly as harsh with her.

Marie felt a little bit bad for Astra but tried to remind herself she was the cause of all this. Regardless, she clearly wasn’t bad though so she nodded in agreement to his terms, “Anya has a spare bedroom, I’ll have to move my study, but she can stay there until your satisfied” she agreed with a sigh, “just... I just want to keep her happy and safe”. she looked to Anya with guilt, “I need to feed her every few hours, clean her at minimum twice a day, not mention help her in personal matters if she isn’t feeling well. That’s without the fact that she likes and needs company. it’s too hard to keep it up out in the field forever, it’s not impossible but there’s a reason I don’t leave the tower let alone my house very often” she looked tired at the thought of Anya’s care, she hated thinking about how busy her day was, not that she minded if she didn’t pay attention to the work it was. She softened though “she is worth it of course. but the point is, we can’t stay in the field forever” she muttered “although saying that I have to find a way to clean her armour, not to mention mine…” she trailed off looking a bit defeated. “neither of us can return with our armour looking like this... it will be obvious what condition she is in and we will both die and or be exiled” she muttered.

“Then it's settled. You'll stay here long enough to clean up and allow Astra to get some notes, then she will go with you back home." He stated with a nod. "For now, she will take care of you."

Astra looked to him with a hint of confusion, as if she was picking up on something. "Are you leaving? I would really appreciate backup-" She countered, unsure of being left alone.

Cendric looked to her with significantly less fire and gave her a nod. "I have to go get their stuff from the woods. I doubt they'll give you any problems considering they know the consequences." He explained, slipping his glove back on over his bandages and transmatting on his helmet. All the while Astra looked uneasy, sparing the occasional glance to Marie.

"I'll be back." He assured before taking his leave, the cellar doors clattering shut behind him.


	4. Minds that think alike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two warlock's in a bunker with such a fascinating subject.

Once Cendric was gone, Marie looked more defeated, but she clearly had no intent to fight her new orders. she set about starting to pull fresh bandages out of her inventory since things seemed to be decided and she looked to the warlock, “so I suppose you want to look at her here?” She asked. “while she doesn’t feel temperature properly because her nerves are temperamental, I still don’t want her to get cold so if we could move on” she sighed.

With a steadying sigh Astra looked to Marie with a small smile. "I could look over her now if you're ready. I have a gown she could wear and a couple blankets if you would like? I know this place can be a bit chilly." She offered. "I also have a tub in the back and some miscellaneous supplies. I'm sure I could find something for your gear.”

“we will start when you wish to start” Marie agreed, looking to Anya thoughtfully. “a bath would be appreciated but that should probably happen last. she is messy, as for our armour, I just need to wash her undergarments and my overcoat” she sighed “I can clean her plates at home and don’t worry, I can’t look after Anya if I’m dead, you’re fine, I won’t do anything, and neither will Anya” she promised weakly. “When we get home to the tower, you can study my journal if you wish” she added “it should have everything you need to catch up”. Iskra settled beside the titan, curling up beside her head supportively and Anya responded by leaning into the ghost slightly. She was too vague to show emotion, but she still clearly recognised her ghost’s light, finding comfort in the small action.

Astra nodded to her, trying to sound gentle. "I understand. For now, I'd like to check her over, then get her washed along with your gear. Afterwards we can head to your home and I can look at your research and relax a bit?" She offered with a little shrug at the end. She let the moment stretch for a second or two before sighing and rubbing the back of her head. "I know... This is- like... Really bad... I'm sure you have this handled on your own but-" She cut herself off, struggling with her words before moving her hands to hold herself and looking down. "Just- I'm sorry. I thought things would go different..." She murmured, giving Marie a moment before moving on to her supplies.

Marie shook her head with a sigh, “It’s ok it was bound to happen eventually” She admitted bitterly, “I just did everything I could to try and avoid it, maybe if you were by yourself it would have gone differently but Titans are known to not be gentle with this stuff” she muttered “I have some fault here too” she added. “but anyway, if you like, I’ll keep her calm and you can take some notes, she is a bit distant so she should be fine. Not to mention she’s exhausted so she likely won’t bother trying to stop you as long as she feels safe” Marie settled beside her and lovingly shifted her hair out of the way before holding her hand. Anya let out a quiet whimper but found comfort in the warlocks’ light, turning to look at her vaguely. She was still crying silently but it was clear just how much trust she put into the warlock and her ghost collectively.

As Astra rummaged through the supplies, she smirked and huffed at the mention of Cendric. She didn't comment however, just letting Marie settle with Anya. “Whatever you need to do to make this as painless as possible." She confirmed, picking up a small light and stethoscope before realising what she said. “I-I mean- this shouldn't be painful- I was just-" she stumbled over her words as she looked to Marie, obviously flustered and embarrassed.

A ghost popped up at her side with a little giggle. "Honey, honey, easy- you're going to give yourself a heart attack." She teased to Astra who was a deep shade of purple.

"Just-" Astra started, shaking her head as if dismissing the whole thing before looking to Anya. "Just record what I find okay-" She ordered, putting the stethoscope on.

"Yes ma'am." She giggled as Astra placed the disk to Anya's chest. The ghost did spare a look to Marie, and even gave her a small nod before looking back to Anya. At first Anya seemed uncomfortable with Astra’s touch as if sensing something off with her, but Marie held her hand and gently stroked her head, so she remained calm and distant. Her heartbeat was slow and almost sounded as if it was struggling. she wasn’t very reactive, and her reactions were delayed. her hearing seemed vague, but it was unclear if she was deaf, choosing not to hear or her mind was elsewhere. Her sight was just as vague and while she did have faint pupils among the smoky grey, her gaze was unfocused.

As Iskra helped with getting the armour out of the way, her body was a mess. Her clothes were put aside for now so Astra could study her body, her skin near the cracks was almost chitinous as thick blood pooled in them almost protectively. Her skin was a sickly grey and her deep plum hair was dull and dead. Usually awoken had light that danced under their skin, but Anya seemed to simply have dark bruising that seemed to pulse around her body instead. Marie pointed out various things she knew as well. As it turned out, Anya had torn open some old wounds which had caused the bleeding, but her actions had created a lot of new movement cracks all over her body. Using the darkness inside her tending to worsen some things like the chitinous affect her skin had so simply moving when she was summoning the dark caused the cracks that now cut into her hands, feet and joints.

The tests ran on like this. Astra checked vitals, her sensory skills, and asked general questions about her condition, most of it was rather normal check-up esque questions until she asked about what had happened. "Okay." Astra started while she cleaned her tools. "How did she get like this again?"

Marie looked guilty at the question, despite how much time had passed, she still felt awful. “I remember it like it was yesterday. I was the last one to see her before she disappeared, we were on the moon and ran into trouble”. She sighed and continued with sad nostalgia, “we lost the other titan with us but Anya here, she got us all out and I thought she would follow. I looked back and-” she paused tearing up, “she said, first in, last out. gave a salute and turned around. She went back into the depths alone. I guess she went to get her friends body, but I didn’t know at the time”. Marie took a moment before continuing the story, “she was successful I suppose, but the rest is a mystery. I found her ship four years later, it was abandoned on the moon with her friends’ body and sparks here” she motioned to the ghost, Iskra nodding in agreement.

Iskra picked up then, “When I left her, she had already become tainted. she refused to stay and try going to the tower, she and I both knew she would be killed since I couldn’t fix her anymore”. the ghost looked guilty but nodded, “so instead, she said to return alone, and she would go give the hive hell, she was scared of hurting someone and she didn’t know what she was becoming. Once she was gone, I thought she was dead” she admitted, “Marie woke me up, and despite my arguments, she stubbornly chose to try and find her body so I could say goodbye, to bury her properly”.

Marie nodded, “it’s true, I really was intended to bury her. She deserved to be memorialised at least but…”. Marie looked disturbed briefly, “We found her, and we thought she was gone, dead. You would assume after all” she chuckled. “when I touched her, she looked at us. it had been four years and I’m guessing three of those years were spent just lying there buried in hive filth. utterly lost to humanity” she admitted. “I wanted to get her out of there so I could help save her and I did, kinda. she started getting better once I started to look after her, I think I reacclimatised her to her human body functions and brought her back in a sense, but she seems permanently tainted on a biological sense. I can only bring her back to a point, it’s been a year, and this is the best I’ve been able to do” she admitted.

“I know she’s happy, somewhat, uh. healthy.” She muttered uncertainly, “or about as healthy as you can be, in her state” Marie sighed. “for the most part her mind is here, but you need to be simple with her. sometimes she doesn’t understand complex things, or doesn’t hear properly” she explained, looking to the warlock. “I don’t honestly think she can be, fixed, but if I can make her better than she was, I’m happy with that” she admitted with a small smile.

As Marie explained, Astra slowed her attempts at cleaning to instead look to Skye sympathetically, significantly more interested in the story. As The warlock finished her tale, Astra looked to Anya, her expression sombre as she placed her hands on the table. “That must have been really hard for you." She murmured lowly before glancing to Marie. "From what I can tell you've done absolutely amazing with her. Hive corruption is extremely difficult, if not impossible to treat, especially after that long." She soothed before looking to Anya, her eyes incredulous. "And on a living being too… I've only seen examples on corpses and, well, Eris of course but..." She trailed off, her words barely a whisper as she covered her mouth in thought. After a moment, the ghost bumped Astra, earning her a startled look.

"Astra- baby- Not now. Later you can do all the mumbling you want but I think they would appreciate getting cleaned up." The ghost offered before looking to Marie with her own version of a smile. "Wouldn't you?” She asked.

Marie nodded with a chuckle, “you can keep studying at home if you wish. to be honest, there’s only so much you can study if she can’t talk back” she admitted, “perhaps my journal can help you? But it is also at home” she sighed. “I have a few more things I can show you however while we are here, I have discovered a way to temporarily, uh, heal? Her skin, but it’s mildly painful and as I said, temporary but well. I can show you that, but she needs a bath for that particular trick” Marie finished, “she should be able to talk in a few days if she rests” she added.

“Oh!" Astra exclaimed, a little surprised with herself. "I didn't mention what I had here did I? There's a bath in the back, I just figured we could get you both and your gear cleaned up before heading back." She explained, pointing behind her to a mess of Fallen banners that hang from the ceiling. “I can go get everything ready if you can handle getting her over there? After today I'm a little worried about her walking..." She murmured, seeming as if she was about to slip into a tangent before looking back to Marie. "Would you like help moving her?” She asked.

“I should be fine... you get a little stronger when you have to carry someone around for a year or so” Marie admitted with a small smile, “you may have? But that sounds nice, thank you” she nodded before a container of what looked like bath salts appeared in her hands. “put this in the water, it will help strengthen her among other things” she explained. The container was full of a white powder, a mix of crushed hive crystal among other things to help promote healing and relaxation. Marie had near to perfected the medicine and she was quite proud of it.

Astra gave a smile at that and a nod, fully understanding that this wasn't her first time having to carry Anya. She started to say something but was distracted by the container as it materialised in Marie's hands. With a curious look, Astra took the container and opened it, looking it over before looking at the warlock with a little quirk of her brow. “Just straight in the bath?" She asked before giving a shrug and a smile. "Alright." She assured before walking off to the back room. “I'll put a handful to start off. The bath is pretty big." She called behind her, before lifting a banner and disappearing behind it.

A moment or two later the sound of running water came from the room, along with the opening and closing of drawers. All the while her Ghost floated in place, looking out to where Astra had gone before looking to Marie and Anya. “I think you'll like this. The room was built on thanks to Cendric and Thao. Construction finished just last week." She explained, looking out to the room. "I'm really glad we didn't have to bail on this place. We've done a lot of work on it since the Red War... Be a shame to throw all that away…”.

Marie leaned down to gently stroke the titan’s cheek affectionately, “I have to move you to the bath, it might hurt but I promise I’ll be as gentle as I can” she soothed gently. Anya looked her vaguely, giving no indication that she heard the warlock, but she quickly realised Marie’s intentions as the she lifted her off the table with care, the titan let out a weak whimper, bringing up a hand to clutch at the Marie’s robes tightly. Despite the clear pain, Anya just leaned into the warlock’s chest for comfort with no signs of aggression yet. Marie looked at the ghost with a guilty sigh as she moved towards the bathroom, “had I realised there was anyone here, I would have gone elsewhere” she admitted bitterly, “regardless of who it was” she added. “I wasn’t planning on too many people to even know she existed, but it happened. maybe it is a good thing... who knows” she muttered, looking to Anya who was tired and pained in her arms. “Anya is just very protective apparently... I guess it’s the titan in her” she sighed and shook her head and headed into the bathroom carefully.

As they walked past the tables of tanks and artifacts an odd sense pulled at Anya, almost like a familiar presence. Nothing whispered from it which was unusual given that the feeling and whispers went hand in hand, though there was a sense of comfort and contentment coming from it. The pull was weak, but Anya could easily pick it out from the many tanks. Anya’s attention seemed to be stolen by something briefly, as if she heard something, but it was almost an invisible reaction behind how much hurt she was feeling for the time being.

“We all have our secrets hon." The ghost started, sounding genuine as she floated with her. "At least yours was found out by us, anyone else would have probably been less inviting considering the circumstances." She explained, implying that their little group wasn't exactly innocent.

"The bath is almost ready!" Astra called out, poking out her head from the banners. "I pulled out some herbs and tinctures if you wanted to try them out but at the moment there's only the salt in the tub."

Marie gently let herself through the banners and looked around with brief interest with a nod, heading to the bath. She briefly set Anya down at the foot of the bath and supported her while she checked on the temperature and looked to Astra “well honestly I haven’t gotten much reaction from her from anything else, I don’t know if she likes it or dislikes it honestly” she admitted “but she will definitely dislike this to begin with” she sighed with guilt before picking Anya up and setting her in the bath gently.

It took a very long delayed moment for her to register the fact she was suddenly submerged in water that pulled at her body and she let out a pained whimper, instantly moving to find Marie for security. The warlock herself looked guilty as almost immediately the water started looking tainted and darker, as if it were absorbing the darkness in her, but Marie gave Anya her hand before putting the other under the water and closing her eyes, light focusing on her hand and it was the opposite reaction to before. the salt seemed to instead absorb the stronger light and after a moment, the water started glowing with warm and gentle solar light instead, as if burning away the darkness. Anya calmed down instantly once this happened and relaxed in the water weakly with a sigh, still clutching her hand for security.

Astra looked to the two with sympathy as Skye lowered the titan into the warm waters. For a brief moment Astra had thought maybe she doesn’t mind the water as much as Marie let on but was soon corrected as Anya began to whimper. She couldn't bring herself to watch the heartbreaking display and instead settled on moving a wooden stool next to the tub. It didn't give as much reach as sitting on the side of the tub, but it was at least more comfortable at the moment. Instead of taking a seat on it she reached down and pulled a tile from the floor. Underneath was a simple drain, the metal brand new, though obviously used given the slight chemical smell.

Marie opened her eyes and gently shifted to her knees to settle where the titan’s head was, supporting her gently so she didn’t slip under water while focusing her light into the water “that’s right... good girl” she soothed lovingly before looking to Astra “give it a few minutes and you can get a better look at her” she assured.

As promised, to begin with, it was uncomfortable seeing her in mild pain but once she relaxed, she looked almost content despite staring vaguely into space, her somewhat misty eyes were unclear. What was startling though was that as the minutes passed, the titan’s skin begun to change from sickly grey to stark pale white grey, the black that bled from her body turned to brown blood and the cracks seemed to become more like natural wounds and paper cuts. After five minutes, her body at least looked awoken, the dark light that pulsed in her was lighter, not quite as affected by the salt, unlike her skin but even it was lighter as it danced under her skin.

As Anya slowly settled Astra looked to the two curiously, doing her best to busy herself with checking her drawers and cleaning off the counter. It was the way the water glowed that stopped her, her own light swelling from feeling the power in the air. All she could do was gawk, her hands clapping a jar filled with some kind of golden goo as Anya slowly healed in front of her. It wasn't until she almost dropped the jar that she realized she was staring. A quick fumble and she was finally able to speak.

"It- my light- how did you come to such a conclusion?" She gasped, hugging the jar tight as her eyes scanned the many changes of Anya's body.

Marie looked thoughtful, "well I was testing on creatures for months. rats, bugs, hell I caught some worms... I found out I could replicate the sickness for the most part but curing them. there was only one-way, solar light. it burns the darkness away, but without killing the source, it was never permanent. without killing the creature, the source lives" she muttered looking depressed. "obviously, death is out of the question, but my experimentation did lead me to discover that focused light could be used to help with things like trying to give her stitches with particularly large wounds, not that she bleeds out... it’s just, nicer" she admitted.

She was interrupted by Anya coughing weakly and spitting up dirty brown blood. she looked pained briefly before returning to looking tired as her gaze seemed to have trouble focusing on Marie, it was obvious she needed rest and was fighting it, wording something vague. The warlock lovingly wiped the mess away with a gentle hand. "it’s ok" she soothed bringing a hand to her cheek, she wasn’t sure what was said but she didn’t want to continue forcing her to speak. "come back when you’re ready ma Ourse, there no rush" she promised, "your safe, I won’t let anything happen to you". Marie responded slowly by leaning into her palm with a comforted sigh.

It was then Marie focused back to Astra, "I started by trying to find a more convenient way to help Anya, I learnt very quickly there was no way to fix it after all” she continued with disappointment. “obviously, Anya is a little bigger than a rat and I’d have to find a way to upsize my studies safely, I don’t want to kill her after all, so I needed so way to experiment on a bigger scale." she sighed. "I found out that I could use hive crystals and similar light absorbing materials to make a creme essentially or bath salts to help lessen the effort on my part, not mention the effectiveness for Anya. I started with her hands and it worked in various degree’s, although because of all her open wounds, it does sting a little as the crystals start to absorb the bad stuff. once you overpower it with light, it’s not as harsh and helps me at least try to keep her skin somewhat healthy. tending to her wounds was my main concern because they refuse to heal, among other things of course, etcetera" she murmured, spacing out for a moment before looking apologetic. "I’m sorry if that was a bit much all at once..." she blushed a little

As Marie explained, Astra looked to her curiously, eyes bright with interest. she slowly took a seat on the little wooden stool and because of its size she had to bend her legs a bit too much and spread her feet a little too wide. When she put her knees together though, it gave the perfect height for her to place the jar and settle her chin on the lid, tilting her head as Marie explained. The little warlock looked like such a derpy little thing but soon moved when Marie grew sheepish for rambling on.

Astra snapped straight, looking surprised at Skye. "Absolutely not! That's the point of this." She smiled. "I want to understand." Her curiosity obviously sated, she got up, hefting the jar in a better position in her hands.

"Honestly, it's brilliant, though morbidly like a mission I heard about Savathun. " She started as she got up from her little perch, moving to place the jar on the counter. The subject was dark, though she sounded almost fond or admiring. "That's why I love our enemies so much, they teach us so many new things and leave behind such useful resources." As the Jar was placed with a set of two other jars, one holding some kind of green herb while the other held a white powder, she realized just what she was saying. As if startled she looked back to Marie and stuttered.

"Not that it's not terrible what is happening- I'm not a sympathizer but, it's undeniable that we can take advantage of this." She explained, looking apologetic. She could only assume Skye had some sort of resentment for what the Hive had done to her friend. "It's just- There's so much we can learn from this including how to potentially help her. I'm not sure she can be cured, but if something like this exists-" She gestured to Anya. "Then surely we can fine some kind of semi-permanent solution." She looked to Marie with a gentle smile, nervous that she might have come off wrong.

"But for now, we can treat this as a break. Anya can get cleaned up, your Armor can get taken care of, and after a bit of tests we can head to the city." She realized how assertive she sounded about taking the tests and lowered her head a bit apologetically. "If that is okay, I mean..."

Marie listened with various emotions going from understanding to flicking back to being uncomfortable before nodding with understanding once more. she looked at Anya with guilt "I don't really harbor any more hatred than anyone else for the hive..." she sighed, "if I was only..." she trailed off weakly. it was clear she still felt in some part responsible for this, "there is a lot we can learn... but I guess I’ve just been focusing on Anya... she has taught me a lot about how the hive spread, they are like a disease... but if there's a way to make her feel better, that's all I can ask for" she admitted "I don't want any more than that anymore, I just want to make it up to her" she sighed.

now that Anya was in the best condition possible, she started to inspect the titan’s wounds carefully, they bled brown slowly in the water. Anya would flinch as she carefully inspected her body and Marie soothed her gently, promising it wouldn't take too long as she noted particularly dangerous wounds that she might have to stitch up, although she was fortunate that Anya didn't seem to have hurt herself too much more than she would have naturally, since she didn't fight specifically.

As she worked, Anya started to get mildly impatient and she finally raised a hand to find Marie. with her body covered up to her neck and the time she had been soaking, it was becoming very clear that she was recovering amazingly quickly for someone so worn out. she finally let out a whisper making Marie pause "what was that my sweet, I’m sorry" skye repeated apologetically, she had missed it.

At hearing that Marie was so understanding about the Hive, Astra looked a little surprised but listened patiently and sympathetically as Marie explained. Astra took a moment to look to Anya as Marie checked her over, noted the size of the wounds and took it upon herself to gather a few things while Marie soothed Anya.

"home?" Anya repeated a little louder, her voice was harsh and cracked but seemed slightly better than her angry broken voice before.

"we can’t go yet, but I promise we will go as soon as we are allowed ok" Marie promised gently, “Astra just needs to do a few things with me”.

Anya seemed almost disappointed and a little frustrated, shifting her gaze to look at Marie too. She was becoming more focused slowly. "safe?" she murmured.

"yes, we are safe" Marie replied assuringly, "I won’t let anything happen to you" she soothed, pressing a kiss to her head lovingly. "the mean titan won’t get you or me" she mused, “I’ll make sure of that so just trust me ok? No more angry bear?” she questioned, a little bit of humour in her voice to help the titan feel better.

Anya seemed to take some time to process the words before replying with a sigh, her gaze glancing past Marie. "loud" she muttered with defeat. this in itself was a bit weird as the warlock spoke in a somewhat muted manner, which meant it was very quiet as conversations went. Anya’s voice was still not much louder than a whisper, Marie was silent so she could hear the broken titan say her simple words which added more confusion.

Marie looked a little confused but didn’t write her off just yet, "I’m sorry, am I being too loud?".

Anya moved her head toward Marie again with a tired sigh, "no... like your voice... others..." she murmured.

As Astra returned with a small bag, she was surprised to see Anya trying to speak. "Am.." She started; her voice quiet as she kneeled next to Marie. "Um. Am I too loud?”

Anya shook her head looking a bit frustrated that they didn’t understand what she meant. “no...” she murmured, “voices...” she sighed, “dark voices...”.

Marie looked unsure and thoughtful as she considered Anya’s words. “dark voices? Is something talking to you?” she asked gently, “or are the demons loud?”.

Anya looked to the two vaguely, shaking her head. “demons quiet” she murmured as she shifted to lean against the warlock’s chest. “feed... wants moon” she whispered before growing quiet almost looking afraid and shaking her head “no moon… don’t make me” she almost begged.

The words seemed to conflict each other, and Marie bit her lip as she tried to understand, regardless, she lovingly pet the titan’s head. “you don’t want to go to the moon? I’d never make you do that” she assured gently, “who wants to go to the moon?” she asked. Anya simply agreed vaguely with a tired nod, nuzzling into the warlock’s chest much like a child wanting protection. Marie didn’t stop her and looked to Astra thoughtfully, “she doesn’t usually talk this much about voice’s that don’t belong to her demon’s” she admitted.

At that Astra looked genuinely confused, sharing Marie's concern. "I do have a lot of specimens... It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that something could be whispering to her." She explained, though she didn't seem certain. "I could go look through my things, but it might just be easier to run a few tests then head back to the City." Astra explained, looking to Anya a bit worriedly. “That is... If you don't mind? It might be a bit invasive though. I need a decent amount of blood from her.”

Marie nodded and gently helped to pull the titans arm from the water, ignoring the fact she was still wearing her armour, it was already filthy and wet anyway from the titan she was cuddling. “now’s the time to do it, it can be hard to collect from her normally... not to mention it tends to go solid if left too long...” she warned gently. “I’d suggest however that you do so when I can keep her calm, she is used to me... occasionally causing harm... but she trusts me so you may be a different matter”. At that Marie shifted her attention back towards Anya and gently held the tired titan, “Anya, my sweet, it’s gonna hurt for just a second ok? I just have to take a little blood so I can help you, just like we’ve done before” she soothed.

Anya turned to look up to her vaguely and nodded, whether she truly understood the words was a mystery, but she seemed to enjoy being cuddled despite being distracted by new voices. “Story?” she asked quietly.

Marie nodded with a smile, “of course I can tell you a story” she replied lovingly, “what topic today?” she asked.

After a long moment of thought, Anya seemed to decide with a sigh, “Mars...” she said simply. She’d heard the stories many times by now, but she liked hearing them again as she often forgot the stories she was told. She tended to remember some of the starts of the story, but it was usually minutes before she stopped paying attention properly and just listened to Marie speak instead.

Marie looked thoughtful in response, deciding on a story about mars. “huh, well I think I have the perfect thing, sparks told me a cool story about how she found you. do you remember?” She asked gently. Anya considered the words before she shook her head and Marie continued. “well then I’ll tell you” she smiled, getting comfortable before moving into a slow and gentle story. It was about Iskra for the most part following a group of guardians and she decided to search mars on her own after a number of years searching other planets.

Astra nodded to her in understanding, obviously grateful that she was getting the opportunity to study something so unique. She seemed mildly uncomfortable for asking but at seeing how Marie was quick to accommodate, she relaxed a bit. As Marie settled with down Anya, offering a story, Astra scooted her little stool closer and gathered the small first aid kit. She took her time looking through the contents and getting set up.

Iskra found Anya in a long since buried skyscraper that she was stuck in during a sandstorm. Anya was born alone beside Iskra and they began their lives together in the sands of a barren wasteland. As Anya listened and cuddled up to Marie, it was slow, and her gaze would flicker to Astra but always back to the warlock she held dear. her exhaustion eventually seemed to win and for the first time since Astra had seen her she closed her eyes, moments later falling asleep. calling it sleep was a bit odd because it was more like she had fallen into a coma or had died, she looked more like a corpse than something actually living as it seemed her body just slowed almost to a stop. she barely breathed or reacted to what was around her as even her heartbeat slowed to a pace that suggested that she might die. Marie continued talking though, giving Astra a nod to indicate she could do what she wanted, within reason, as she kept the titan calm and asleep.

. During that time however, Astra couldn't help but listen, her eyes occasionally glancing to Marie as she retold the tale of how Anya came to be. To her it almost sounded like it was about someone else and for a moment she realized just how broken Anya was. As she finished her set up, she looked to Anya, understanding how just how much the Hive could corrupt something but never fully understanding the extent of Anya's affliction until now.

For a moment she hesitated, supplies in hand, and just looked Anya over, feeling guilty for only seeing her as some sort of anomaly instead of a guardian. It was Marie looking at her that snapped her from the thought, though she looked obviously perturbed. With a small nod of her own she reached forward gently, took Anya's arm and set up a blood draw. The hand holding Anya rested on her elbow, holding her arm up, and steadily flowed Void light. It didn't prick like arc or idly lap like solar, it was just a nulling presence, like a draft or smoke ghosting over the skin. It wasn't exactly something Astra did on purpose, though it might offer some level of a distraction from the pull of the needle. Anya flinched occasionally, whimpering under her breath briefly but with loving pets from Marie, she remained sleeping so Astra could do what she needed. The blood was thicker than normal. combined with her slowed pulse as well, the task was disturbingly unnatural. The blood itself was a dirty brown in colour rather than red but it was clearly wrong, that much was certain.

As Astra took her samples, a few vials worth, she pulled the needle, pressed some gauze against the entry point and secured it with tape. Not wanting to let it slip back into the water she looked to Marie. It seemed almost too easy for Marie to give ample opportunity for Astra to work, she seemed to be able to distract Anya without trying too hard and no matter what Astra had to do, Marie kept the broken titan sleeping.

"Would you be okay taking her out of the tub?" She asked carefully, Quirk already transmatting one of the 3 vials. "I could get everything cleaned up and situated while you do.”

Marie gave a nod before eyeing the water with a frown, “is it ok to empty the bath? I need to rinse her off before I can dress her again, so it could be a few minutes” she explained. The titan despite the glowing water was sitting in a brown bloody bath from her body not that Marie seemed all that disturbed by it, she was likely very used to this.

Astra looked a little surprised and flustered, as if forgetting the fact that Anya was essentially sitting in a hive infused bath. “Oh! Yes, of course." She assured, gathering her things and moving them to the counter so Marie had more room.

As Marie moved and started to leave, Anya immediately woke up with a start and instinctively clutched her armour with a pained whimper. She seemed almost desperate to stay close to her warlock, but her body stopped her from doing to much as she caused herself pain. "shhh, hey, I’m not going anywhere" Marie promised gently, "I’m just going to get comfortable and we are just gonna clean you up and get ready to go home" she soothed.

At the prospect of home Anya seemed lighten up and sighed as she reluctantly settled, "home".

"that’s right" Marie smiled gently, "we can cuddle in bed and listen shaxx if you like" she offered as she gently pried herself out of the titan’s hands so she could work. Anya thought about it after a moment nodded with agreement.

After a moment of moving things around and listening to Marie sooth Anya, she took the vials and looked to Marie with a soft smile. "Feel free to take all the time you like; I know you were wanting to clean up your Armor." She offered, though at the mention of Armor she looked thoughtful. "You know... I might have something you both could wear instead. It should cover her fairly well."

As she spoke, she kneeled down and pulled a few glass bottles from the cabinets and sat them next to the bath. “Unless you'd rather not? Either way, here's some shampoo and soap. It's the only ones I have that aren’t infused with herbs... Hate for her to have an allergic reaction on top of that corruption...".

Marie moved into emptying the tub before simply beginning to rinse off the titan’s filthy body, nodding gratefully, “thank you, it won’t be long” she promised before glancing at her own armour with a sigh, “I’ll see once I’ve dealt with Anya” she admitted. As Marie took to taking care of Anya's bath Astra took it upon herself to return to her main study. For the most part she took the time to clean, put away the remaining vials and take a few notes. It wasn’t until Marie came in with Anya that Astra looked up from her desk closest to the worm.

After the few minutes it took to clean her, her white skin was already turning the sickly grey and Marie was rather quick to set her on the examination table so Astra could look her over while she was clean "sorry, it’s a quick process, so let me know when I can dress her" she warned gently. After her bath, Anya was noticeably more alert despite everything, it was almost as if the light had somewhat resurrected her though it was clear she likely wasn’t walking out of here just yet.

As they settled into the study room again, this time Anya seemed simultaneously more frustrated and curious almost as she looked around, it was as if she was searching for something but one of her hands stayed in Marie’s despite this. once clean, her body was covered with various rather deep scratches although cracks were a better way to describe them, the edges were the first things to become solid almost like chitin or strange scarring. her body was clearly becoming much harder to move as she turned a sickly grey and her wounds despite being open bled extremely slowly once dry as her blood was thicker, thickening even more so as if her body itself was stopping the blood. the two vials of blood she had taken that were not frozen in transmat started blackening within minutes and grew thick and viscous as if separating from itself.

"Oh! Of course. Here-" Astra started, getting up from her old metal chair to walk over to a very large filing cabinet. After a bit of rummaging, she produced an arm full of fabrics. Taking care to keep them away from Anya's corruption she pulled up a chair and placed the fabrics on it, not before taking a towel for herself. "Interesting... The bath doesn't last long now does it...?" Astra mused, looking Anya over as she approached with the towel. "There must be some way to make it last..." She murmured to herself, gently wrapping the towel around Anya's damp body and gently patting her down, taking the most care around her wounds.

As Astra worked a series of whispers rose from one of the tanks, it's vibe giving off a feeling that it had just woken up, still groggy. "Mother? No... Familiar..." It drawled out, it's whispers growing with want as it seemed to notice Anya's corruption. "Moon...Come to me..." It urged, almost demanding.

Anya heard the voice clearly despite the fog of her mind and her gaze moved vaguely towards its home with confusion, she didn’t have the strength to follow the instructions, but she certainly felt the pull of its words and hated it. "weak... Don’t want moon..." she murmured to herself, replying with mild annoyance to the voice. outwardly she looked mildly perturbed as she was deciding whether she liked Astra’s attention or not.

"no, it doesn’t" Marie sighed with guilt, clearly not realising Anya’s connection to the worm in the room. "I don’t know how to make it last yet" she admitted, speaking to Astra. "the travellers light itself seems to mildly suppress it but it’s not enough, it has to be focused light for extended period to help" she explained, bitting her lip thoughtfully. It was one of the problems she had not found a solution for yet. Astra hummed to herself at the explanation, the gears obviously turning in her head as she settled the towel over Anya's shoulders.

Marie looked to her filthy armour again with a sigh and looked to "well I’m going to need to clean up so, I think she should be ok for long enough for me to change. if she is holding sparks at least, I think..." she looked unsure though and leaned down too Anya. "hey, my sweet, I’ll be right back ok? I just need to get dressed and will be back before you can find time to miss me, it will take less than a second” she promised.

Anya immediately looked unsettled as her thoughts moved to the warlock, through the connection, the worm could sense Marie’s name and the titan’s need to be beside her and safe. The titan’s hands found Marie uncertainly and looked to Astra’s glowing form with reluctance, "safe?" she whispered hoarsely.

When she heard Anya speak up however, she stopped, looking up to her with slight surprise. "Are you okay?" She murmured back gently, noting the expression. She wasn't surprised however when Anya didn't answer and instead looked to Marie as she spoke before looking to the titan with a soft smile.

"Astra won’t hurt you" Marie assured gently, petting her hand lovingly, “you stay right here with Astra”.

"No more poking, Promise. I might listen to your heart or simple things like that, but they shouldn't hurt." She assured gently to Anya before looking to Marie. " All of that can wait till you get back though. I wouldn't want to stress her out too much." She offered before turning to the pile of fabric and rummaging through it. "But um- here." She turned back, offering some fairly normal civilian clothes. The sleeves were long, as was the robes that made up the outfit. "This should cover." Astra smiled as Marie left with the clothes, happy to help, and looked to Iskra as she settled in Anya's palm.

Steadily the whispers turned to pleads, continuing to pull at Anya’s mind silently, it's pull feeling more desperate. “Come to me, feed me, release me.” Marie took the clothes gratefully and gave Anya a comforting squeeze before the titans’ ghost appeared and settled in the Anya’s hand lovingly so Marie could escape. Anya was beginning to look a little irritated but for now the voice couldn’t overpower the titans lack of strength... yet.

Iskra looked to Astra from the titan’s palm, looking quite comfortable considering her guardian’s nature. “we will want to bandage and dress her before she bleeds too much more” she admitted, “so go ahead, I will keep an eye on her” Iskra assured with certainty.

"You're right, I'm just going to check a few things first. Probably should have done this in the bath but... Oh well." She shrugged, motioning for Quirk to appear as she grabbed a stethoscope off the neighbouring table.

It was when Astra started her final inspection when Anya looked more confused than anything, she believed Marie when she said this mysterious person was safe but on the same token, the desperate whispers put her on edge until finally she caught one of Astra’s hands sluggishly with a whimper. Astra worked fairly quickly, not wanting to leave an obviously irritated Anya still damp on a cold table, while Quirk took notes of Astra's findings. After a minute or two she was almost done and was even pulling the stethoscope from Anya's back when she caught Astra's hand, thoroughly startling her.

"Anya?" She asked softly before Anya started making gestures. For the most part she just looked confused and sympathetic, allowing this Titan to continue holding her hand.

Iskra looked up at the titan with careful confusion, “what’s wrong Anya?” she asked gently. Anya let the ghost go to motion ‘hear’ tiredly, starting to tear up with frustration. “you hear something?” Anya then motioned to her mouth seemingly to continue the conversation, her movements slow and clumsy “you want to say something?... eat?” She added as Anya corrected her.

Anya then once more turned to Astra looking unsure of how to say it before whispering painfully, “escape...” she murmured. She wasn’t used to talking to new people and she was used to Marie and Iskra being able to guess at her intentions. Since she didn’t know Astra, she repeated the word with determination, motioning to her head with irritation.

“Escape?” Iskra repeated with confusion, that wasn’t something she understood but clearly Anya was trying to get Astra’s help for some reason.

"I'm sorry but I don't-..." She murmured uncomfortably, doing her best to try and figure out what Anya wanted. After a moment or two Astra's eyes seemed to light up with realization, almost startling herself. "Oh- oh the-" She looked out towards the worm, which happened to have quite a bit of hive specimens and artifacts around it. Astra looked to Anya sympathetically, her tone gentle. "It's the worm isn't it? I'm sorry, we can leave soon.

sparks looked alert at the mention of a worm and looked wary, "wait? do you mean a hive worm?" she asked weakly.

Marie chose this moment to return in fresh clothing, feeling much better until she read the room and looked confused. "what’s up sparks?" she asked carefully, looking to Astra and Anya. "did Anya say something weird?".

Anya however seemed to only focus on almost parts of what Astra said, nodding at the mention of the worm, she didn’t know how she knew but she knew the worm was annoying her. "hungry" she whispered weakly, continuing to hold her hand. despite the different light, she did feel a bit of comfort from her.

Astra looked a little surprised at Iskra's concern and even started to explain herself, fully realizing how bad it sounded but stopped when she saw Marie. For a brief moment Astra looked to Anya as she emphasized the whispers before sighing softly and placing her free hand over hers.

"I think my worm is complaining to Anya." She explained sheepishly, gently brushing her thumb over Anya's hand. "It's not surprising food is what it decides to complain about." The whispers seemed to grow irritated at this point, demanding to be picked up, to be answered. Astra however only huffed. "Anya, I assure you it's fine... I'll feed it after you're dressed. Okay?”

Anya sighed, vaguely realising that meant that the whispers wouldn’t go away and let her be. It did help to know that her support didn’t fear the worm’s existence though. "shhh" she complained quietly in her mind, normally responding to the voices in her head empowered them but this voice seemed to be ok to reply too.

Marie walked over now wearing large gloves up to her elbows and an apron over her new clothes "ah... that’s... something I didn’t know she could do" she admitted as she set about pulling out thick bandages to start wrapping her hands and arms, Marie seemed glad to feel her again, finally letting Astra go in turn.

Astra looked to Marie as she approached and backed off, giving her ample space to clean up Anya. The towel at this point still sat draped over Anya's shoulders and more than likely was starting to fuse.

"what are you doing with a hive worm?" Iskra asked with worry, she still had moments of doubt with warlocks despite the time spent with Marie.

"Oh- I um..." Astra started, obviously uncertain on how to explain herself. "Well... I study quite a few things... That particular experiment focuses on the life cycle and development of a hive worm." She explained crossing her arms uncomfortably. "I thought it would be useful...”.

Marie looked up from Anya thoughtfully, "well these things are supposed to be quite powerful so don’t blame you, but they are.... oh well I won’t finish that sentence" she blushed looking to Anya who was equally as highly illegal, as were worms. "I studied worms for a bit myself, but I wasn’t able to get anything interesting regarding Anya from them" she sighed. as she wrapped the titan with care, careful to try and keep her as clean as possible before dressing her so she looked respectable, despite the casual clothes, Iskra still dressed Anya in her bio suit which instantly limited the amount of darkness that she naturally put off.

Astra only looked away from Iskra sheepishly as she implied how illegal her work was. It was obvious Astra knew full well just what kind of trouble she could get into and didn't seem to be willing to continue with the topic. However, when Marie spoke up, not only agreeing but defending the action, Astra settled a bit, giving Marie an appreciative smile.

Iskra shivered in response to the topic, Anya was one thing, but the worms creeped her out. "warlocks..." she muttered.

"it’s for the good of... everyone...usually" Marie murmured with embarrassment.

"Pardon me- I know you're bonding and all but Cendric is outside..." Quirk chimed in, interrupting the conversation. "I told him you were getting dressed."

Astra looked to Quirk briefly with surprise before looking to Marie. "I didn't think he'd be that quick... I actually have a few things to do before we go, would you like help back up the stairs or...?" She offered gently.

At the mention of Cendric Marie sighed looking bitter as if she was reminded of her terrifying fate, "well it takes time to get Anya ready so I’ll need more time" she muttered "I can have her ready in five minutes" she nodded before looking to Astra. "I’ll be fine, I’m used to carrying her" she admitted. Iskra moved closer to Anya instinctively on hearing that Cendric was waiting.

Astra noted Marie's irritation, growing quickly uncomfortable as the warlock rushed to finish up. Quirk however seemed confused, even starting to ask what happened before being shushed by Astra. "Tell him we'll meet him outside... Please." Astra asked softly, moving away from the two and motioning for her Ghost to follow. "Oh- okay. Sure." Quirk replied, only more confused before transmatting away. With a small sigh of relief Astra moved to the back room, the whispers of her worm growing with demands as she walked past before slowly quieting. Overall, the worm seemed to be on edge and irritable, partially from being hungry and partially from Anya's mood.

once dressed Marie collected her discarded clothes and armour before tidying up briefly feeling pressured, she gave the broken titan a few gentle words before setting the titan gently on her back in a piggyback and Anya cuddled to her gratefully finding comfort in her warmth. Marie gave a last look around, quietly admiring the study before reluctantly surfacing with the titan. As the two made their way to the stairs Marie could see Cendric looking down at them coldly from the top, holding the door open. Marie avoided Cendric’s gaze awkwardly, she was clearly not much of a fighter and not wanting to start anything, she stood to the side with Anya, purposely putting space between them and him. Anya however moved her vague gaze to stare in his direction without blinking, looking wary. she seemed to recognise him to a degree but wasn’t sure about him, her feelings of distrust could likely be felt by everything living in Astra’s bunker. He didn't say anything, though he did look to Anya when he noticed her staring at him. Once the two were fully out into the open Cendric shut the door carefully, mindful of slamming it.

"We'll be taking my ship." He explained after an awkward silence, seeming to have been giving them the opportunity to speak first. "The way back is dark and overgrown; can you handle her on your own?". His tone was flat as if he had been stating a fact, though him asking showed he had some level of politeness about him at least.

“I’ve had practice, I have her, it’s probably for the best anyway..." she replied quietly, clearly she still feared him but was a protective as ever, "what about mine?" Marie questioned carefully. "I can’t just leave it here..." she sighed. Anya didn’t seemed to want to attack him but on passing, but you could see Iskra curled up in the folds of her hood protectively, Anya herself just seemed to want to know exactly where he was, staring unblinking at him. it was disturbing as he could feel her gaze despite it being so vague. it didn’t seem aggressive, just untrusting, even her hands held onto Marie a little tighter.

Cendric gave a brief look to Anya, unable to shake the feeling of being watched before looking back to Marie. "It's taken care of, but we need to get back before it gets too dark. Can your ghost light the way?" He explained calmly though it was evident there wouldn't be much room for arguing when it came to him.

At this point the sun was still shining through the trees but only barely. It would be dark soon and the shadows cast by the trees would already leave the trek back fairly difficult. Marie nodded and Esperer appeared to light the way for her so they could begin walking when ready. "normally we aren’t out this long" Marie sighed, "but I guess you can never tell what a day will bring you" she muttered.


	5. A Slim Escape?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What would Cendric do when they return to tower, they are about to find out.

once ready, Marie followed Cendric for the most part. Esperer lit up the way for everyone who needed it and Iskra reluctantly left her guardians hood to help too if needed. As Esperer materialized and offered to light the way Cendric turned away from Marie and started walking, not bothering to comment. He did try to keep a steady pace however, stopping when Marie stopped and looking to her as if asking if she needed help. There was a level of superiority to it though, as if his attitude left the impression that he was humouring her attempts.

Marie didn’t want to start anything; she knew she would lose so she didn’t argue with the titan’s decisions despite her questioning his intentions. Marie had grown a lot stronger physically over the time of caring for Anya, so carrying the titan wasn’t as hard for her as you’d think. Anya did remain watching Cendric but otherwise she was quiet, content to just let Marie carry her back the stranger’s ship. by the time they reached the ship though, Marie was definitely a bit tired though she didn’t voice this out of pride and stubbornness.

As they made it to the Tex Machanica brand ship, Cendric looked to her, waiting for the ramp to lower so Marie could step inside. "Does she fly well?" He asked bluntly as the ramp settled on the ground securely.

“not really" Marie sighed, "she likes a smooth flight, turbulence makes her ill so flying a bit slower is best, illness is the least of her issues though, so you don’t have to worry about that" she assured, she knew how to plan for the mess Anya was capable off. She squeezed Anya’s hand supportively, "as long as I’m watching her, she will be fine". Marie felt extremely uncomfortable at the thought of being so trapped and the fear of her being taken straight to the vanguard did cross her mind and scared her immensely, she did admire the ship itself though, she was a sucker for style. "your ship is nice; I don’t think I’ve seen this ship around” she complimented without thought before blushing and clearing her throat awkwardly. “oh well I mean... I don’t get out much..." she trailed off realising she had blurted out her thoughts.

Cendric at first looked as if he was genuinely considering that, though he did somewhat deadpan at the remark, understanding full well what she meant. It was enough for him to decide he was done talking and turn to the ship, though at the compliment he stopped, his hand resting on the railing. He looked back to her; his unmarked eyebrow cocked as he seemed to be considering her. After a moment he gave her a nod. "Thank you. It doesn't either." He explained before turning back away and boarding.

Inside it was everything that you would expect a Tax Machanica ship to be. The cock pit was sleek with a captain's chair at the helm while behind it was two leather upholstered seats facing each other. Beyond that seemed to be for cargo though there looked to be a neatly made bed instead. As Cendric settled in the seat he pulled on the seatbelt, possibly out of habit and began to work the controls. "I'll be sure to take the trip back slow but be sure to tell me if she starts getting sick." He asked, though afterwards he did mumble something about how he didn't want to take it in for cleaning again.

Marie couldn’t help but look around with awe, this was nothing like her own ship which tended to be a moving library, full of books and trinkets, smelling of old paper and strange research. it wasn’t messy but it was certainly cluttered. Marie set Anya on the floor in a corner gently putting down a rather large, rounded towel, not wanting to make a mess. Since Anya couldn’t see, she didn’t mind when Marie pulled out a hood and put it over her head gently, setting it so it covered Anya’s mouth and nose while the hood hung down to cover her eyes. Marie then sat behind her so she could protect the wall herself as well as keep the titan calm during the flight. she chose not to use the seat and used a cargo net to secure herself instead since once they were flying it would be fine, she was clearly practiced in looking after the titan in this manner and looked almost comfortable with the careful setup to preserve the beautiful Tex Machanica ship. Marie couldn’t help but continue admiring the ship and couldn’t help but think that Anya herself might have admired the ship once, it was a shame she couldn’t see it. instead Marie told her about it quietly, explaining the design and the foundry. Anya quietly perked up as vague memories of a last word came to mind, for the most part, Marie was doing everything she could to take up as little of Cendric’s existence as possible, keeping the titan occupied and busy, quiet wasn’t an issue since she couldn’t talk louder than a whisper if she tried.

As the two settled Cendric didn't seem to notice, instead busying himself with controls and softly murmuring to himself, as if talking to someone. For a moment thing got quiet as Cendric finished up but before he could launch the ship all controls died. For a solid 10 seconds Cendric just sat there, staring at the controls, undoubtedly doing his best not to snap.

"Diagnostic." He stated flatly, irritation pickling at his voice. Nothing answered from what Marie could hear though Cendric did turn around to look at the two as if something had told him it was their fault. At first, he was confused, like a father looking back at a child for doing something stupid before settling back in his seat with a sigh and rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing...?" He asked as if not impressed with the little set up Marie had made.

Marie sighed and looked to him awkwardly, "I usually sit with her while we fly... it makes her feel better, less sick" she replied, "I have her ghost fly generally and I don’t really want to make a mess of your ship" she admitted. "she shouldn’t but...id feel worse if I ruined your day even more so" she admitted quietly.

Cendric didn't even look up, instead settling himself back in his seat and trying to press one of the buttons, his hand still resting over his eyes. The button gave no response aside from the control panel going dark. For a moment he didn't do anything, making it appear as if he wasn't going to tell her to move, until he gestured to the bed over his shoulder. "Use the bed. If she makes a mess, I can remove it." He ordered, sounding tired and done with today.

skye looked a little guilty but did as she was told with awkward embarrassment. Despite his words about replacing the bed, Marie still wasn’t prepared to give the titan anything to complain about. As Marie moved to settle Anya in the bed she could feel that not only was the ship high quality, but the mattress was also. It wasn't like anything you would see in a normal ship considering it was far from practical and felt brand new giving her more reason to protect the bed. She covered the bed with a clean sheet, one of her many backup plans for when Marie wanted to go out with Anya. She then placed a blanket, folding it in half and settling Anya in the middle of it, tucking her in securely. The bed gave little resistance as Anya laid down; this was without a doubt a ship he rarely used.

Marie helped Iskra settle in with Anya before kissing the titan’s head affectionately, making sure she was ok. With that done, Marie realised awkwardly that she suddenly didn’t have a reason not to go to the cockpit for take-off. Marie reluctantly sat in one of the chairs silently, clearly feeling very awkward and unsure, unable to meet the titan’s "I... I’m sorry... I normally do all this alone..." she mumbled, "I wish we weren’t so much of a burden." she apologised.

Cendric listened for the two to get comfortable, only moving his hand away from his eyes once the control lights came on. He pressed a button and was greeted with nothing. With a frustrated huff he swivelled the chair to look at Marie and intertwined his fingers. "Listen." He started sternly, as if he was going to lecture her. "As of this moment you are not in control. I am. With that being said you have no choice whether you are or are not a burden. I do. All you have done at this point in try and help a fellow guardian." He stated, sounding cold though his words said otherwise. "Now. If you are both settled, we can leave-" He glanced to the control pad. "Right?"

As if in answer the ship came to life, the ramp closing and the cabin lights dimming. Marie nodded and swallowed hard, quietly not knowing if she was in trouble or not. “Alright then." He gave a nod and turned around, tapping a couple of the controls before carefully flying off towards the tower. Anya didn’t enjoy having to be on her own but as she cuddled Iskra, she stayed quiet fir the most part. there were a few moments where Marie had to get up and calm her down, sitting down beside her for a few minutes but Marie tried her best to not piss Cendric off anymore.

The trip was fairly slow for the most part. Cendric took his time and stayed quiet throughout the majority of the trip. There was at one point however a beep before a voice came over coms. " Wow, never thought you'd be on the receiving end. Where ya at?" A familiar voice teased over coms, earning only an irritated hum from Cendric. "Not talking? That's fine. Been a few days since we talked, I don't mind being the one doing all the work." The voice jabbed again prompting a response.

"Mixed company. Landing in E.T.A five minutes." He stated bluntly.

"You have them with you!?" The voice shouted, sounding almost excited. " Hi ladies! I can't believe you let them on the bull! You never let me ride unless-"

Cendric snapped this time, cutting him off. "Enough! Have November refresh you on proper etiquette before I get there, am I understood?"

There was a long moment of silence, before finally the voice spoke up again, softer this time. "Whatever you say Bull-" The comm instantly cut out, as if someone else had disconnected it.

For the rest of the trip Cendric was deathly quiet, almost a fixture in the ship as he pulled in for a landing. Once the ship was properly docked, he turned back around and got up, looking down at the girls. "Ready?"

once landed, Marie got up immediately to sort Anya out. Despite being more than comfortably rugged up in a cocoon of blankets, allowing only her gaze to stare out vaguely, Anya instantly flinched on Marie’s touch. She was blind once more, so she hadn’t realised she approached, instinctively making her retreat into the blanket warily. It took a moment to convince Anya to leave the safety of her den, but the trip had yet again seemed to allow her to recover further. after helping the titan up, Marie set her on the ground before taking off the blanket and sheet that she had placed to protect his bed. It left the bed like the rest of the ship, perfectly untouched. It was as if they’d never been there and Marie went out of her way to ensure so.

Marie was clearly nervous when it came to unloading Anya off the ship, lingering in the cargo bay anxiously as Anya’s face was uncovered. Normally she had a helmet and her armour to help her look normal, but this time, Anya and Marie were on their own. Marie cleaned her face and took a deep breath before shifting the hood to cover her head as much as possible, hiding the black stained cloth behind unstained cloth, for the most part she was covered but you could see her grey chin and dark lips barely. She looked a lot like Eris morn if she bothered to clean up her tears.

Marie finally set Anya on her shoulders once more and nodded, "thank you for the lift home" she replied shyly as she stood ready to leave.

Cendric watched the warlock as she seemed to frantically clean up everything they have touched, leaving it surprisingly immaculate. He didn't even say anything as they disembark, saving it till they were on the ground. The hanger at this time was fairly busy, several people rushing around, too focused with getting off work and changing shifts to pay attention to the three as Cendric's bull was quickly taken away so a new ship could dock. He waited until they were out of the way of any aircrafts before Cendric placed a large hand on Marie's shoulder.

"Breath." He murmured to her in a tone that was uncharacteristically gentle. The gesture was short however, only lasting a second and feeling as if it never happened as he walked with her home, when they finally broke from the crowd and out into the main hallway leading to her apartment Cendric looked to her. "Remind me. How long have you had her?”

Marie was trying to play it cool, but she was clearly terrified, trying not to meet anyone’s gaze. Anya did give off a feeling of dark cold even in the tower and Marie watched for those who'd give her the occasional confused look. she walked as quickly as a normal pace would allow while Anya seemed to keep her head down, looking almost as if sleeping on her shoulders. for the first time since being around Cendric, she was unable to see him so she couldn’t watch him. "almost three years now" Marie murmured weakly.

As they reached the door Cendric held the door open for Marie once it was unlocked, Marie gratefully escaped inside, "you can come in if you like" she offered, setting Anya on the lounge with a more relaxed sigh. The titan quietly let himself in, a bit surprised she offered. she took a moment as if thanking the traveller that they even made it there to begin with. the house wasn’t quite pristine, the place obviously had a warlock touch however it was still pretty spotless despite the warlock’s touch. Once inside he looked around, noting the books and papers before stepping towards the kitchen. What was clear though was that Anya’s house was the Equivalent to Cendric’s Bull, a Mansion compared to most apartment’s.

Anya seemed to recognise this place almost instantly despite the fog in her mind and even she cheered up a little, murmuring something to Marie who returned a loving comment back. "that’s right, safe" she smiled, "once I clean our armour, we can get into bed and relax" she promised, "until then, rest here ok?". Anya nodded and laid down tiredly on the lounge with a content sigh, not having the energy to do much else. it was only then that Marie turned to see if Cendric had followed.

He waited until Marie assured Anya that they would go to bed soon before speaking up. "Did Astra feed you while you were with her?" He asked bluntly, knowing full well they crashed the picnic considering he was the one to retrieve the basket they left behind. Cendric let himself into the fridge, looking to see if she had much to eat. the kitchen itself was rather small and compact, designed for three people at most really. there was a pantry full of basic long-life food like pasta, dried vegetables and things of that nature while the fridge seemed to be for holding preprepared bottles and basic supplies like butter, milk and stuff, clearly the warlocks first concern wasn’t herself and perhaps normally it was different but for now it was basic, she did however have tea and coffee which she pointed out in case he wanted one, including a container of Eva’s decorative biscuits sealed and safe near the area. it was the most expensive looking thing in the kitchen so far.

Marie looked confused at the question before looking guilty with a fluster of French, "I forgot..." she cursed to herself before looking around realising the days supplies were AWOL. She practically ran as she ducked to the fridge, awkwardly dodging past Cendric "no, I was going too but... its fine, I just need to feed Anya, give me a moment" she rushed as she set about busying herself with what looked like almost a child’s bottle only it was an adapted a field one, it was filled with what looked like soup. the house itself was a bit bare currently, Marie had been putting off shopping knowing Anya would be quite tired over the next few days giving her more time to shop. she didn’t answer whether Marie herself had been fed but it was a safe assumption that she hadn’t since her first thoughts up until now was almost always Anya.

Cendric only looked to her with a cocked eyebrow when she admitted that she forgot and straightened up to be somewhat out of the way when she ducked close to retrieve a bottle. For the most part he looked confused at seeing the bottles and how it seemed to be Anya's main food supply. With a quick look back at the fridge Cendric looked thoughtful before shutting the door. Without asking Cendric set a pot on to boil and took a moment to clean up the kitchen, mostly disinfecting the counters and sink while also seeming to be gathering utensils. the kitchen while bare had everything you could possibly need to cook and for the most part it was all neat other than what Marie obviously used a lot, the rest seemed to slowly be building dust, the previous owner obviously cooked more than Marie herself did. It took a bit of looking to find everything he needed but after a few minutes it looked as if he was starting to cook.

Marie didn’t even seem to register what he was doing as she stressed about Anya, warming up her soup and ensuring the titan had her few mouthfuls before returning to the kitchen and freezing at seeing him work. "oh. uh..." she blushed, “you don’t need to do that" she murmured with embarrassment but not daring to step foot in the kitchen. "I need to go shopping. I don’t really… have.." she trailed off weakly not sure what to do about this.

As Skye stepped up to the kitchen and saw him working, she could see a few things transmatted onto the counter. At first it was a couple small things, an old cooking thermometer, a cast iron pan and a knife; followed by ingredients like fresh greens and a black plastic bag tied shut. "Coffee or tea?" He asked bluntly, making himself a cup of coffee as a few minor things Marie didn't have appeared on the counter.

skye seemed torn but looked down awkwardly. "tea" she replied quietly, at this point she was so used to doing the babysitting she wasn’t sure what to do now so she set the rest of Anya’s dinner down on the table before retreating. "I’ll be in the bathroom..." she informed quietly before doing exactly as she said. she tried her best to shake off her nerves by starting to soak her and Anya’s armour in the bath, beginning to scrub it all down. Cendric only hummed at Marie's answer, more focused on cooking than here at that moment. He didn't even seem to acknowledge her mention of leaving aside from a small nod that could be easily missed. As Skye took care of their Armor Cendric finished up with dinner, taking care to make sure things were made properly and seasoned. All there was left to do was to let it get to temperature and make something for them to drink.

it was about half an hour of quiet when Anya started getting fidgety. Cendric’s distraction had caused Marie to forget her original plan of going back to Anya. despite not being able to see, now she was home, Anya had a general idea of where to go to look for Marie and since she heard cooking, she sluggishly went that way to get the warlocks attention, not realising who it was. she was silent until she reached a hand out to who she assumed was Marie. As she set her hand on the back of his armour, it clearly was not who she thought and immediately backed up tripping over with shocked fear and pain in her attempted quick retreat, she didn’t recognise this light at all.

For the most part he was so distracted that he didn't hear Anya, too used to his fireteam knowing better than to bother him in the kitchen, much less touch him. The second Anya touched him Cendric went rigid, snapping back to look at the sickly who was starting to stumble back. It was practically a second after she touched him that Cendric snatched her arm, holding her by the wrist and looking at her with fury. It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at and where he was, and when he did, he looked startled. "Shit-" He hissed out, using his other hand to help lower Anya to the ground. "Easy- easy-" He tried to sooth uncomfortably before looking to the bathroom. "Skye-" He called at this point looming over Anya and still holding her arm to try and keep her from hurting herself.

Anya immediately felt the fury in his light and looked terrified, essentially rag dolling with shock. despite him calming down after a moment, she shook with fear starting pull away weakly and murmur under her unsteady breath, her eyes and hands starting to glow. Marie however reacted instantly to the call, practically sprinting to the room with fear and horror on seeing what was happening. she moved to catch Anya so she could save the two from each other.

"i-im sorry... s-she was trying to find me!" she rushed quickly before focusing on Anya noticing her focus, "baby, my sweet bear, it’s ok, I have you" she soothed quickly, her voice shaking. "don’t do that, you don’t need to do that" she promised catching the titan’s hands and pulling her away from Cendric and out of the kitchen, practically dragging her. this seemed to be enough to snap her out of the hive spell she was summoning, and she started to cry finding comfort in skyes warmth as she buried her face into the warlock’s chest. she was clearly very shaken, but she had well and truly been trained that when Marie was there, she was safe. despite her intense fear, even Cendric could see her let go of her dark gifts, crumbling to a severely frighten child, she was no longer dangerous. Marie settled on the floor just outside of the kitchen and just held Anya tightly, preying this didn’t change anything.

Cendric had been looking to the door almost pleading as he waited for Marie though his attention was quickly stolen when he noticed the glowing coming from Anya. He looked to her wide eyed, his brain temporarily stalling as he switched back and forth between what to door. Thankfully Skye rushed in and took Anya, which Cendric was happy to allow. Straightening up he watched the girls as Marie pulled Anya out of the kitchen, stuttering and apologizing to the obviously still startled titan..

For a moment Cendric didn't know what to say, almost frozen there, his hand twitching as his light burned. If Marie was intuned to him she could no doubt feel his light pulsing, as if wanting to be used. Nothing was able to come of it however since he was distracted by a playful knock at the door. Cendric glanced down at her, having been looking at the door as if Oryx himself was going to step through it. Marie looked up to Cendric looking pale, "I am so sorry" she spoke with a scared squeak, "she didn’t mean it, she is blind so she didn’t know, she can only see through touch..." she trailed off weakly "normally it’s just me... so she thought..".

"Right...right." He trailed, settling as he flexed his hand into a fist, knuckles cracking as he tried to relive tension in his muscles. "It’s... Fine." He stated, as if deciding that he was going to spare Anya. He cleared his throat and turned to the stove, turning off the burners. " Be sure to warn Astra about that... She tends to be jumpy." He warned gently, his light settling.

Marie looked up towards the door in defeat with slight relief caused by the titan’s words, yet another problem awaited them though and she shifted to hide Anya’s face as she cuddled the titan on the floor knowing full well that she wasn’t able to leave Anya alone yet. In response, Esperer immediately appeared on the other side of the door, about as sudden as a ghost can be. "hey, what’s up?" she asked sounding flustered, "sorry, my guardian can’t come to the door right now, but I can pass on a message" she urged trying to seem casual.

On the other side of the door the Hunter from before stood with Astra, both looking a little startled at the sudden appearance though the Hunter was quick to beam. "Oh, well I'm just dropping something off and picking something up." He explained light heartedly, gesturing to Astra as she sheepishly waved to the ghost, offering a little smile. "You have my Titan, right?" He asked, a smile in his voice.

The ghost almost did a double take, looking polite at first before shock took over and Esperer looked almost angry, "you.... were you following us?" she stated bluntly looking offended before seemingly putting everything together. "the three of you.... all of you..." she backed up looking defensive but now fully aware that it was too late to do anything, her voice almost broke as she continued with defeat, "come in... Anya and your friend scared each other" she muttered. Thao's expression didn't faulter as Hope connected the dots, almost as if he either didn't notice or didn't care. He did however give her a nod and a small 'thank you' while Astra looked a bit taken back and confused by the sudden shift. The door clicked and unlocked as she returned inside to Marie, glancing at the titan before returning to hide on Marie’s person, choosing not to mention her realisation right now.

Marie looked confused to the ghost who looked moody before giving the titan a nod and averting her eyes back to the door. for a moment she felt bitter, if he wasn’t here, none of this would be happening but she let it go with defeat knowing it wasn’t important as she lovingly stroked Anya’s hair starting to hum gently to sooth her.

"Scared each other...?" She murmured as they were let in, peeking past Thao to Marie and Anya on the floor.

"There you are~" Thao cooed to Cendric who glanced to him, obviously not in the mood. "I tried to ping you when I landed, you're lucky I remembered the address..." Thao complained, taking his spot leaning on the counter.

"Are you okay?" Astra asked Marie worriedly, stepping up but keeping her distance since she seemed to be on edge.

Marie nodded quietly, returning a small smile, "she will be fine, she is just scared... she isn’t used to other people... in her house" she replied quietly. at this point Anya had calmed to the point she had stopped crying but she hadn’t bothered to move from Marie’s lap and arms. she vaguely moved her gaze towards the voices before deciding against it and cuddling against Marie, it was as if she was a toddler in the arms of a parent, Marie seemed to have endless patience for her. whether the reason was the fact she was a potentially dangerous monster and she knew it, or it was because of how much she cared for the titan, it was unclear, but she finally did look up to Cendric stiffly. Despite it all, she couldn’t deny the help the titan had offered, "thank you for... everything... I’m sorry we are so much trouble... but I appreciate being alive" she murmured bluntly before looking to the rest of his fire team, "make yourselves at home, I’ll put Anya to bed" she greeted awkwardly.

Astra didn't push, only looking to the two sympathetically before looking to Cendric, quietly wondering just what had happened. As Marie looked to Cendric, Thao perked up, looking to the two curiously as Cendric seemed almost uncomfortable and stoic. He didn't reply, instead busying himself with finishing up dinner. Thao looked between the two with minor surprise, never really having seen Cendric respond like this.

Anya immediately looked unsettled when Marie went to move and again Marie soothed her with gentle coos that wouldn’t look out of place spoken to a child. as she gently helped the titan up, it took a minute or so since the titan was so shaken allowing time for both Astra and Thao to see just how scared she was, the titan however clearly had no intention to fight as long as Marie soothed her.

Astra on the other hand looked to Marie with a gentle nod. "Thank you... Do what you need to, we'll be quiet." Astra assured as Marie got up with Anya. Thao only looked more confused by the two, obviously not aware of what exactly was going on.

Esperer appeared once more to look to the three, internally reminding herself to be a good host, "we really are sorry... we never meant for any of this..." she spoke with defeat.

He didn't get much of a chance to look though, his attention stolen as well as his fireteam's as Hope spoke up. "No no-" Astra assured. "It's my fault honestly... I wouldn't have even-" She was cut off by Cendric as he spoke up, correcting her.

"We all had a role Astra, we had to know the details. You should understand that." He quipped, narrowing his eyes to her before looking to Thao abruptly, smacking his hand as he stole a fried green bean. "Sit." Cendric snapped to the exo who only seemed to grin at him in his own exo way.

"Give me something to sit on~" He shot back, earning him a hard look.

"You're drunk." Cendric accused with a growl in his voice, quickly growing irritated.

"And we're still here." He replied, gesturing to the food before continuing. "You even cooked... I thought this was supposed to be a quick shut down." He jabbed, his cheerful demeanour shifting.

"Things got complicated..." Astra explained, looking between the two worriedly. "We didn't know what we were getting into."

"No- I didn't know what we were getting into." Thao argued, looking to Astra with slight irritation. "No-one has bothered to explain."

"I'll fill you in once we get home, for now can you just sit?" Cendric directed, his expression hard.

For a moment Thao just started at him, as if challenging before Astra spoke up gently. "Please?" She offered, sounding meek.

The two continued to stare each other down for just a moment longer before Thao finally relented with a huff, moving to the table. "Alright- alright."

"Thank you." Cendric stated irritably as he turned to the food, making plates and drinks while Marie took care of Anya.

Marie could eventually tempt the titan upstairs leaving just her ghost alone awkwardly hovering in the door, Esperer was clearly uncomfortable but seemed to stay as if to compensate for the fact that Marie would not return downstairs tonight. "I will apologise for Marie, but she won’t come down again... Anya tends to get clingy when things like this happen. she isn’t dangerous as long as she feels safe" she assured. events like this seemed rare but not rare enough that Esperer didn’t know exactly what to expect. "I can compensate you for the meal if you wish..." Esperer offered, "and if the plan is for Astra to stay here, then I will need to take a little bit of extra time to prepare... I’m sorry, but it will be done tonight" she added confidently, despite her discomfort.

Astra looked a bit surprised at the mention that Marie wouldn't be back down and looked to Cendric worriedly, half expecting him to be upset. The Titan however didn't seem bothered, only instead putting up the last plate to exchange it for a Tupperware. "Not necessary." Cendric assured as he put up the leftovers. " I planned on making dinner for my fireteam and happened to make extra." He explained.

"How generous of you." Thao quipped, earning him a glare as Astra awkwardly got up to help Cendric clean.

"I'll take care of the dishes tonight before I go to bed." Astra offered, looking to Esperer with a small smile. "And you don’t have to do anything special for me to stay... Really. I could take the couch or the tub..."

Cendric didn't argue, taking two of the plates and setting them at the table. One for Thao and one for Astra while the last plate sat on the counter. Thao brightened up instantly at the food, not wasting any time tearing into it. Astra soon followed suit, making sure the extra food was put away before taking a seat and tucking into her food as well. "Astra will only be here a few days while she studies... We've already gotten a fair amount of information just in the few hours we've spoke with you." Cendric explained, placing the dishes in the sink before picking up his plate to eat. The extra ingredients and utensils transmatted from the counter as Cendric ate.

Esperer almost chuckled to herself because of the irony, it would take about that long for Anya to go back to normal after a major scare like that but she held her words and nodded, "its polite to make sure your comfortable regardless of how long you’re staying" she admitted before she shook her head, "I never really met Anya before, but I’ve been told that she offered her hospitality to anyone under her roof once... we like to try and keep her spirit alive as best we can" she nodded.

Astra gave a little smile at that, appreciating the hospitality. "I can respect that, thank you." She offered as Thao finished off his plate, tilting it back and shovelling the last bites into his mouth to make it easier.

the titans ghost appeared beside Esperer shyly as if she heard the conversation and listened in quietly, "so, what’s the deal then..." she asked with uncertainty. "what’s the conditions on being left alone...or is it over?" she asked weakly. Esperer instantly looked to Iskra nervously, almost surprised she is so bold after today.

Cendric only glanced to Thao with a look of utter disappointment before looking back to his food only to have his attention stolen by Iskra. He didn't seem to take the forwardness of Spark's question bad, only looking to her idly before looking back to his food. "You can have your space of course. I'm not expecting Astra to be your guardian's shadow. However..." He continued as he picked at his plate. "If you both leave without either telling her or taking her with you then I can only assume you are trying to flee the city."

With that Astra looked somewhat awkward, now feeling like the one who is the burden. Cendric though didn't in the least bit look shy as he glanced up at the ghosts, his expression hard though at this point it might just be his resting expression.

Iskra looked uncertain, “but what if we can’t get onto you, wouldn’t you rather we flee the city and not be here anyway?” She asked with annoyed confusion. “I don’t understand” she replied.

“Iskra...” Esperer muttered, trying to interrupt.

“NO, my guardian is still my guardian! I want to know how to protect her because she can’t protect herself properly anymore!” Iskra spoke stubbornly. “so tell me what you’d prefer, killing her is off the table or you will have to kill me too...” she warned before looked around at their home sadly. “if it’s safer to leave and never come back... then I’ll do that...” she trailed off weakly, “but don’t drag me along with lies until you decide you’ve had your fun and kill us...” she added. “you know, all of you know that we are sitting ducks anyway...” she admitted bitterly.

Esperer looked frightened and torn between leaving and standing by the stubborn ghost. “Iskra” she hissed urgently, “you’re going to get yourself killed”.

“Then kill me! I already failed my guardian once! Anya can’t ask these questions anymore, so I have too” she looked to the three before resting her stubborn gaze on Cendric.

The warlock and hunter froze as the ghost snapped at Cendric, sharing a glance before looking to their leader with bated breath. Cendric on the other hand just watched as the ghost broke in front of him, his expression solid and unreadable. Once the ghost finished what she had to say Cendric sat his plate next to himself on the counter, his eyes staying locked on Iskra.

"Cendric-" Astra started, only to be cut off as Thao placed a comforting hand on her arm. She looked to the Exo almost pleading, and received a look of warning from him, leaving her only the option to watch as Cendric crossed the space. Once he was only a few feet from the ghosts, he kneeled, his expression still unreadable though his tone was genuine. "You really are a Titan's ghost." He started, his voice just a sigh as he glanced down, seeming to think over his words. When he had finally thought of something, he looked back to Iskra, his tone unreadable. "Tell me, she was strong, wasn't she? A defender, an example to what all Titans strive to be?”

Iskra looks scared as he approached but held her ground despite it, she looked caught off guard at the sudden almost gentle sounding tone despite everything that had happened prior. The ghost was silenced and went through a mix of emotions ending on a look of guilt. “the strongest... to me at least... I remember. she watched the warlocks leave and go to safety... there was nothing could say to convince her not to go back for her friend. we both knew we would die... but she said to me, first one in, last one out. she meant it...” she looked to Cendric, “I see her sometimes... I can’t just...” she muttered, trailing off for a moment. “she would have liked you in a work sense... although you’re too serious, you scare people. but I suppose that’s ok too if you’re a good enough person...” she trailed off looking upset and nostalgic before shaking her head, “wait, why are you changing the subject” she muttered, although she had clearly been derailed and she hung back with confused fear.

Cendric seemed to settle as she explained, listening to the story and even giving a small huff of amusement when she told him he was scary. All in all, he looked almost kind as he let her finish, even though she was quick to switch back to being untrusting. "Because even though I might be scary, I share her ideals." He explained, his two guardians watching wide eyed as Cendric spoke with the ghost. "I know you might see us as the enemy right now, like I saw your team before, but understand I am just doing my job." He continued, before looking thoughtful. "Tell me. Sparks. If the situation was reversed, how would Anya have handled it?" He asked genuinely.

Iskra looked torn, she knew exactly what she would have done, and it wasn’t pleasant. “she would have been stronger than Marie...” she murmured, “but she would have done the same. I don’t think we would ever have left the moon together though. she would have protected Esperer and Marie until they were ready” she sighed before looking up to Cendric, “she would have spent day, if not weeks on the moon if she had too, she had the ability to protect them that long whereas Marie didn’t... it was the only reason we left the moon” she admitted sounding upset. “It was a mistake... but one I’m glad for. she believed in people, but the city must come first... and I told myself I have to let go, she is dangerous for the people but when I saw her. she couldn’t move, she could barely talk but she knew me, wanted me... and I couldn’t bring myself to... it’s too late now, it’s both of us or none of us...” she asserted stubbornly, “and we’d both understand” she added bluntly. “as long as it’s together, I’d accept that, Anya would disagree, but it has to be together” she assured.

Cendric let her explain, his expression still the same though his eyes didn't seem to have the same fire as before. Once she had had finished gave a small shake of his head before speaking. "I'm not going to kill you or your guardian because at this time I do not have a reason to." He explained, placing a hand on his knee so he could push himself up to stand. " Of course, that could change but you have been here for how long without the vanguard knowing?" He asked, though the question seemed to be rhetorical considering he didn't wait for an answer before looking to Thao. "You done?" Cendric asked sternly, making the two jolts at the sudden acknowledgment.

"Uh- yeah... Yeah. You ready?" Thao asked carefully, getting up from his chair.

Cendric gave him a nod before looking to the ghosts. "Is there anything you need before Thao and I go?”

“It’s been about three years…” sparks replied awkwardly before shaking her head, “the only thing we need is groceries but that won’t be happening for a few days” she admitted with a sigh, “we have enough to last through”.

Esperer relaxed slightly and nodded, “thank you for your understanding. everything we need for Anya is here... I’ll have Astra send our lines if you want to send a message…”. she looked shy, not nearly as bold as the neon ghost beside her. “Astra can stay as long as necessary and drop in whenever she wishes, just send us a message” she informed.

Cendric looked to Sparks consideringly, as if a thought was triggered by something she said. He didn't say anything though and instead looked to Esperer. "Thank you for that." He said with a nod as Thao stepped up next to the titan, his unease slowly fading the more Cendric spoke with the ghosts. "Most of your communication will be though Thao however."

"I'm not that bad." The exo assured, smiling in his own way.

Cendric hummed at that, as if not sharing the same opinion before looking over to Astra. "I have a list of errands for you before you come home. Be sure to get the priority ones sent to me before tomorrow." Cendric ordered as he walked to the door, the Exo following suit.

Astra looked a little surprised but only nodded to him in understanding. "Of course." She answered, her voice soft. At that Cendric looked to the ghosts, gave them a nod of farewell and let himself out while Thao only waved over his shoulder, letting the door shut quietly behind him.


	6. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since Marie has had a real living friend that wasn't a ghost.

Now that they were gone Astra looked to the two ghosts worriedly, not sure what to say. The ghosts seemed to both relax a little and after a moment, Esperer seemed to decide not to bring up her thoughts, changing topic on clearing her throat, “well, I’ll show you to your room if you wish” she nodded.

Iskra sighed and released her tension in the form of loosening her shell, she looked almost tired after the day, but she looked to Astra politely. “well, I’m going to check on Anya” she admitted, “but make yourself at home. Welcome to Anya’s house, she obviously can’t greet you, but that’s why I’m here” she mused a little awkwardly, she was clearly trying to lighten the air. “stay as long as you like, or as long as you have too, whatever comes first, there’s only one request” she admitted. “try and be tidy. I know you’re a warlock, so some mess is ok. I know now that you guys need a bit of mess to work” she joked, “but keep it within reason, please”. With a final nod, she seemed to think of if she needed anything but nodded and vanished into light leaving Esperer alone again.

Her soft smile however was quickly replaced with a deep blush at being called out on being messy, not needing to say anything to prove Iskra was right. "I'll be tidy. I promise." She assured sheepishly as the ghost transmatted away, leaving her only to look at Esperer with minor embarrassment.

After Iskra did the welcome, there was a little less pressure on Esperer, so she focused on her next job, trying to hide her Guardian’s mess. “I’ll shift what I can for you” Esperer begun awkwardly, “since this place is Anya’s, we try… to follow her rules… but I think she gave up with Marie a little a while ago” she Joked, “Aanyway, follow me” she chuckled.

Astra gave a soft thank you at the offer of being shown to a room, obviously grateful for the little gesture. "I know you saw my bunker, but I can be clean, I promise." She tried to assure, fiddling anxiously with her fork. "I mean... Cendric makes sure we keep the apartment tidy. Things happen, of course but..." She trailed off before realizing she was rambling. "I'll do my best to make this painless. I promise." She finished, looking a little guilty but giving a small smile. As Esperer made her way to the living room Astra gave a short sidelong look to her plate. It was still half full but more than likely cold that this point, thoroughly ruining the last of her appetite. With a soft defeated sigh, she got up and went to the now open bedroom, getting a good look at the way Marie had lived for the last few years.

Esperer headed to the living room where the spare room branched off and on entering the room, she looked disappointed almost. Currently the bed was almost covered with books and papers. There was space enough for someone to sit or lay down and it wouldn’t take much to guess that the space was likely for Anya to stay there as Marie worked. She had a desk in the corner that was covered with books, papers, trinkets, and there was a large hive crystal in particular hidden under the study material, under the desk. Clearly Astra was not the only one to harbour more illegal stuff.

One wall was taken up by a set of metal shelving for an armoury that held a number of warlock armaments and weaponry. There was a walk-in clothes cupboard right beside it and some of the doors were open showing various folded or hung armour sets beside normal clothing and belongings as well. there was an open crate full of coloured cards on the floor as well as metal grenade like devices in various states of glowing. On observation, Marie seemed to be the type to dress well in armour, preferring pretty and feminine sets versus the less graceful or particularly themed armour. Her weapons seemed to sit between pulse rifles, fusions and an odd shotgun apparently, one thing was clear though, this wasn’t her true study. The room was much too neat and collected for a study with far too many of her belongings in there to truly be considered just her study. This was just where she kept her stuff, her true study was likely moved a lot from room to room which meant none of it was sorted in any manner at all.

Esperer rolled her eye at the task ahead of her before straightening her shell. “damn it Marie...” she muttered before starting to float around and pick up the papers and books that took up the bed. “I’m sorry... I’m sure you know what warlocks are like” she sighed. The room itself though was rather nice and comfortable without the warlocks’ mess and as Astra looked over the paperwork, she could see papers of messy writing, detailed and almost gorgeous drawings about light topics and a lot of Anya. there were pictures of the titan and various parts of her body, wounds, some of the pictures almost seemed doodled lovingly. the hive woman looked beautiful and innocent in pen and pencil drawn pictures despite the clear study material that it was. Esperer didn’t focus on any of it as she just picked up everything as quickly as she could, "if you need to speak with Marie, I can take you to where she is" Esperer added as she tidied up. "Marie will likely show you her studies tomorrow when Anya has calmed down a bit" she added.

For the most part Astra didn't see anything wrong with the space considering it was in better shape than what she would typically live in. This opinion paired with Esperer's embarrassment only proved to leave Astra feeling shameful however and conscious of how tidy she needed to be while she stayed here. With a steadying breath she pushed down her shame, her anxieties, and looked to the ghost with a soft smile. "I don't mind sleeping on the couch- Really. Being a warlock, I know how important it is to not disturb someone's work." She offered, not entirely comfortable with sleeping in the space. "If anything, I can help Marie organise tomorrow and move in here then."

As Astra spoke her Ghost Quirk popped up next to her shoulder, giving the place a look over. "Goodness she keeps things tidy." Quirk mused, floating over to the drawings to scan. "And a rather talented artist... This couldn't be her actual study is it?" Quirk looked to Esperer curiously, not realizing how rude she might be sounding.

Esperer shook her head, “oh no, I’ve been thoroughly informed that we should uh, offer the red carpet, as Iskra, uh, call her sparks” she reminded before continuing. “Anya was very, proper? I suppose, or at least her house was, her diary was something completely different” she admitted to herself before clearing her non-existent throat. “anyway, Marie’s study was her whole house once” she admitted, “but she moved in here since Anya couldn't be left alone, let alone look after herself... I have had to stop Marie from getting too comfortable". She paused her tidying with a sigh, "she gets messier than this but apparently, Anya was a bit OCD once. She’d probably have a heart attack if she could see” she chuckled, “she liked things clean... so, I do my best but, well…". Esperer continued with a new burst of energy, "it’s worth it all though, even if it gets a little boring being stuck here for so long" she paused on the drawings thoughtfully, "the drawings? she has always had a talent for art, Marie isn't the smoothest writer. She draws what she sees to record her studies if she is able, keeps her studies cleaner in a way" Esperer explained.

Esperer made a quick effort to clean off the bed once all the papers and books were gone, using her shell to adjust the pillows and check for marks from Anya. she dumping most of the paperwork on the desk with the rest, leaving the bed clean. "now just one thing, your titan friend told me to warn you that Anya is blind, however, she knows the house well enough that when she is confident, she will wander and try and find Marie. She even entertains herself sometimes” she added thoughtfully, “we are getting there with her, but the point is. if she finds you, she and you might get a fright, but it means no harm. she just has to feel her way around which might frighten you if you randomly get touched out of the blue" Esperer warned gently. "you should lock your door if you don’t want her to find you” she offered, “lastly, I’ll show you where to find Marie and Anya if you need them" she added. “if you need us ghosts, we can hear you from any part of the house so just call out Hope or sparks” she assured.

As Hope explained Astra reached out to snag Quirk just as she was about to say something else and pulled her close to her chest. The display was far from subtle though it did give Astra the opportunity to catch a peek of the drawings. To her they were amazing, far better than anything she had ever made, and took a mental note to commission Skye for help with field notes. "Well..." Astra started, her view of the drawings cut off as Hope dropped the papers on top of the desk, obscuring her view of the drawings. " I definitely don't have the means to make a mess like I normally would..." She explained before whispering something to Quirk.

There was a moment of quiet as the ghost looked to Astra, only to be broken by a disappointed sigh. "Alright- I'll go clean up." Quirk huffed as Astra let her go, only to zip off to the kitchen. Astra watched her go, only looking to Esperer when she was gone. "I don't want to disturb them, but I'd be nice to know which room they're in."

"oh, you won’t interrupt anything, but ill certainly show you where they are at" the ghost assured before floating past the now empty bed, "I’ll have Marie tidy the rest up tomorrow morning" Esperer promised, "follow me".

Esperer led the warlock upstairs and it was for the most part, a whole another set of rules. the one thing the place seemed to share was that the floor was spotless, completely free from anything that Anya might trip over but as they moved upstairs, it became obvious just how Anya found her way around the place. The space around Anya’s hand level and shoulders were marked with dark lines and handprints from the titan’s blind wanderings and once it was pointed out, the lines followed down the banister and downstairs as well but not as obviously down stairs. as they entered the top floor there was a hallway rug that ran down the corridor which also had dirty looking foot prints along it. The first door to the left was open and this was where Esperer led Astra.

Although a bit reluctant, Astra followed the ghost to the stairs and followed her up, immediately noting the trails Anya had left. A part of her seemed surprised to see it, though it did help her answer a few questions she had regarding Anya's quality of life.

As Astra was led into the open room, the centre of the room was taken up by a large queen bed, the wall behind it held a proud red banner showing the broken black hexagon of the titan class, two longer ones beside it showing the lion hung just as proudly on each side of the bed. the area was relatively neat and tidy with one of the bedside tables taken up by another stack of books, the other clean with only a neatly placed tablet. the rest of the room was just as proudly displayed though as Astra looked around.

two of the walls were covered with various types of trophies. there was part displaying a proud fallen cloak belonging to the house of kings with a hanging captains’ helmet above it. two shock blades hung underneath with a set of fallen weapons each side, it was almost shrine like. the next part belonged to the cabal and the main feature was a mounted metal cabal shield with a banner belonging to the sand eaters behind a set of cabal weapons. a hive sword hung off the wall as well as a hive helmet to match. she had mounted some vex weapons and heads as well. one wall seemed to be stuff that was hung differently, not as neat and it was similar sort of stuff but perhaps, they were gifted to Anya instead because they were clearly displayed differently.

As they made their way to the room Astra couldn’t help but glance around, her curiosity taken up by the new space. At seeing the ground trophies however Astra couldn't help but stare. These were far bigger than anything Astra could drag home, and with Cendric constantly gate keeping her findings she had yet to collect anything like this. It was obvious she was in awe, considering she stepped into the room a little farther than she normally would allow herself to get a good look at the decor.

"My light..." She whispered in amazement, only for Marie to quickly steal her attention when she spoke up.

At seeing Astra’s reaction to the trophy’s she looked amused, “I had a similar reaction” she admitted honestly “they are all hers, although the messy side of the wall are gifts from a friend” she smiled “I’m not quite as neat”. Marie sighed.

"It's really impressive." Astra sighed, her smile genuine as she looked to the trophies once more before looking back to Marie.

the two women were currently in bed, Marie sitting against the headboard with Anya cuddled up to her side lovingly. The warlock read out loud quietly and Anya looked tired. on Astra’s entrance, the titan’s gaze moved up the sound vaguely looking expectant but a gently squeeze from Marie seemed to be enough that she settled a little closer to the warlock with a sigh. Marie looked up to Astra and gave a shy wave, pausing her story. "hey, uh, sorry about dinner" she apologised weakly, "I hope your titan friend wasn’t mad" she added with guilt. she knew she wouldn’t get a chance to eat it tonight with everything that had gone wrong.

Astra looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Oh- oh no, don't be sorry. He wasn't mad. If anyone understands that responsibilities come first, it's him." She assured with a gentle smile and backed out of the room a bit. "We did leave you some leftovers though- I'm not sure if you like quail but Cendric made that with potatoes and greens."

The warlock looked appreciative at the titan’s gesture despite her feelings and nodded, “while I do eat properly, things like that take time so I’ll appreciate a good meal” she admitted before glancing at Anya and suddenly remembering something. “oh, I have something for you to look at regarding Anya’s study, I think I have a few pages missing but for the most part, everything is here” she assured before looking to Anya gently, “hold on ma Ourse” she soothed as she moved to her bedside table. Marie picked up a thick book bound with leather from the stack and motioned for Astra to come over as she settled back beside Anya comfortingly. “there we are, I didn’t go too far” she soothed, Anya clearly wasn’t quite ok with moving too far from the warlock as she looked uncomfortable almost instantly once on her own. The titan didn’t waste any time in cuddling the warlock again and Marie didn’t seem to mind, gently petting her hair. “I’m just talking to Astra; she’s going to help look after you” she mused gently.

It was the mention of Marie having something for her that piqued her interest, her bright eyes lighting up a bit with curiosity. However, the little interaction between the two stole her focus, her expression softening at seeing how tender Marie was to Anya. It was definitely a rarity with her fireteam, considering the majority of them either had social issues or were too prideful, but seeing how kind Marie was, Astra was realized how accurate Thao's assessment of the warlock was. She really was a sweetheart.

Anya seemed to listen and look wary as if thinking about the violent light she felt before and she looked a bit shy prompting her to cuddle a little closer. Marie couldn’t help but smile gently, it was a little cute seeing a titan act like a mouse. “Do you remember Astra? She’s not the scary one” she soothed gently before looking to the warlock. “Anya’s memory can be spotty until she spends a lot of time with people” she explained apologetically, “once she is used to your light, she will be ok with you” she promised.

Anya looked a bit confused, as if the memories Marie spoke of had been replaced by fear. She found Marie’s hand uncertainly before wording something and after a moment, Marie looked to Astra awkwardly. “when you feel comfortable, do you think you could maybe introduce yourself again?” She asked, blushing slightly. “I mean to say, it’s essentially sitting and holding her hand for a few minutes, so she learns to trust your light” she explained, setting the book to her side. “there’s no rush of course” she added, “she won’t hurt you in the meantime. Marie looked thoughtful and put her hand on the leather book again, “now this is my study by the way. you can read this at your leisure, it’s a bit messy, but it details from her disappearance to discovery and the following recovery. I update it as I find things” she explained.

Astra waited patiently for Marie, though she did grow uncertain about approaching when seeing how timid Anya was. She personally couldn't blame her, but after everything that has happened today Astra couldn't bring herself to upset Anya anymore. Carefully, Astra stepped over and offered a small smile to the Titan, partially out of wanting to look non-threatening and partially from the mention of her scary leader. "That's okay, I understand." Astra assured before looking to Marie and taking the book gently. "I wouldn't mind introducing myself again. Maybe tomorrow we can sit and chat together so Anya can warm up to me?"

As Astra spoke, she unbound the book, only to startle herself when it threatened to spill pages. Fumbling, she managed to keep the book together, only to shut it tight and hug it to her chest. "I'm sorry- I should probably read this when I'm in a more secure spot. " She explained with a sheepish look, her body obviously tense and anxious.

While it was somewhat of a messy affair opening the old and worn journal, stains marking the outside. it was clear that the whole book was dedicated to Anya immediately and it was done in the same messy writing and extremely detailed drawings as Marie’s note’s downstairs. The book started out extremely morbid as Marie had written down what she knew of the guardian in her light form, an ominous yet proud titan, her back to the reader as she walked proudly back into the depths of the moon. The next picture was a picture of the same titan almost buried under the filth of the hive, she appeared as a corpse, her armour still in place with notes pointing to particular parts and questions floated around her. the words ‘last place her strength could take her?’ was written beside her. A sketch of her revealed face showed the depth of her degradation as she’d lost a lot of her weight and now black trailed down her face, staining it. She’d listed everything from skin colour to traits she showed.

She detailed trying to help the titan up and having to cut her from the filth, noting that she almost found herself dead as a wizard noticed them. Apparently, Anya had instinctively rescued them with an impressive show of hive magic, teleporting them to the surface of the moon where she seemed almost dead on arrival. Astra could follow her entire journey including the plan and actions in the tower to look after her. it was almost hopeful as Skye detailed her recovery, the words ‘there’s a chance she could get better... it’s slim but I have to try’ stood out ominously.

Marie chuckled gave a nod, clearly unoffended and smiling gently, "its ok, I need to clean it up anyway" she admitted with a blush. "I’m a bit messy, but you can use that as a resource if you wish" she offered before looking to the trophies with guilt, "I can only imagine what kind of a monster she was..." she sighed. "not that I guess it’s changed much, she’s just a different kind of monster now" she added awkwardly, "but tomorrow works, we can talk tomorrow and figure out where to start researching, maybe we can figure this thing out" she offered, looking a little hopeful. "it’s worth a try right?" she mused.

Astra followed Marie’s gaze to the trophies, half expecting to see something else, only to look back to the warlock sympathetically. "Sparks spoke really highly of her. Maybe- or. Hopefully we'll get to see that Titan again." Astra replied, a bit of hope coming to her eyes as she smiled at Anya, "And if not... Then I don't see this as a loss." With that Astra looked back up to Marie, her eyes softening as she gave her a nod. "We'll figure something out. But for now, I'll let you both try to get some sleep. I’m sure Anya is tired after meeting my 'Scary' titan friend."

Anya’s gaze seemed to settle on the area Astra was in. the longer she stood there, the more curious she seemed to become as she seemed to almost think about things. she was hard to read with her eyes fogged over and grey, never smiling or showing much emotion at all. the only thing that was clear as that she really enjoyed Marie’s company for one reason or another and she was certainly curious despite her timidity.

"he was pretty scary" Marie chuckled, "but I think his heart is in the right place... maybe he will grow on us" she nodded looking a little unsure. "but make yourself at home" she reminded gently with a smile before looking to Anya lovingly. "I don’t regret anything, I’d do it again" she promised, "she is just a bit of a scary teddy bear once you get to know her, I promise". at the mention of bear, Anya looked to Marie and raised a hand into claws, making the warlock smile. she seemed to enjoy the reaction despite the observable lack of reaction, but she enjoyed the happy pulse of light that the action made Marie give, finding comfort in it.

Astra smiled brightly and actually giggled at Anya's reaction, genuinely not expecting it from her. "I hope so, because your titan is already growing in me." She complimented as she looked to Anya warmly. "Alright... I'll see you both in the morning." She offered with a nod, her smile stuck on her face as she turned and made her way out the door, clutching the journal close.

For Astra this whole thing had been scary, from meeting Anya to Cendric's wrath and of course to living in a stranger’s house. At first, she didn’t know how she was going to do it, but after speaking with Marie and seeing just how much of a teddy bear Anya could be, Astra was feeling somewhat confident and determined to get Anya back to normal.

At least... She was going to try...

The next morning, Marie got another glimmer of information about the ominous fireteam that had suddenly popped into their lives. Marie would find that Astra slept in, though the fridge and cabinets were full. It wasn't necessarily anything overboard, mostly revolving around potential ingredients for dinner and snacks that were quick and easy. Yogurt, granola bars and fruit seemed to be some of the snack items while there was also a box of some kind of meal-replacer in the fridge. It looked to be some kind of chocolate flavoured drink with a little note on the box that read "Only ONE per day". Clearly, the Scare of the previous day was just the bitter entrée, followed by a much more welcoming turn of events.


End file.
